Psychological Problems Derived from Mastectomy: A Qualitative Study

摘要

Advances in treatment of breast cancer have not avoided usingmastectomy in all cases, and when this happens, we are dealingwith a woman who is suffering from psychological problems. Inorder to study this issue we have carried out a research with thecollaboration of The Andalusian Association of Women withMastectomies (AMAMA) in Seville, which provided us with a sampleof 46 mastectomized women. The objective of this study is toanalyze in depth the psychological reaction of women to mastectomythrough its different stages from diagnosis to surgical treatment. We chose a cualitative method so as to explore the subjectivecomponents of psicologycal respons. As a result, we found instudied women: (a) The “fracture” of the“corporal imaginary” related to the disappearance of avaluable organ, linked to the feeling of loss of personalattractiveness, low self-esteem and avoidance of socialrelationships. (b) The problem with “femininity” hasbeen linked to the issue of “desirability”, something innate inthe “feminine position”. (c) Many of them keep in mindthe idea of mutilation, as a “hole” which is impossible tointegrate. (d) Finally, we demonstrate how certain features ofpersonality made them especially vulnerable to the explainedphenomena.