Câncer de mama

espiritualidade, imagem corporal e morbilidade psicológica em mulheres mastectomizadas

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer has epidemiological importance, with an estimated 73,610 new cases for the year 2023. The diagnosis and treatment impact spirituality, body image, depression and anxiety. Objective: To investigate the relationship between spirituality, body image and psychological morbidity (anxiety and depression) in mastectomized women who participate in activities in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) or support groups for cancer patients in Brazil. Methodology: Cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach, using an online form with a questionnaire of sociodemographic and clinical variables and 3 instruments: Body Image Scale, Spiritual and Religion Attitudes in Dealing with Illness (SPREUK) and Anxiety and Depression Scale. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and bivariate correlation was used to determine the association between the variables. Results: The average age of the participants was 47 years, and most were white (54.1%) and had higher education (57.1%). Women with greater spirituality and older age groups had less psychological morbidity and concerns about body image. Women with less time since surgery had more symptoms of psychological morbidity (anxiety and depression), especially anxiety and greater concern with body image. Conclusion: The study contributed to understanding the impact of mastectomy on women, demonstrating the importance of spirituality as a coping strategy, and therefore should be considered by NGO teams and support centers as a coping mechanism, mainly to reduce psychological morbidity and better body image.