Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Breast cancer surgeries and psychosexual sequelae: Implications for remediation

1985; Elsevier BV; Volume: 1; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0749-2081(85)80009-7

1878-3449

Wendy S. Schain,

Family Support in Illness

WrE LIVE in a mammocentric era where breasts are glamorized, idealized, and sensationalized. Women's breasts have been reproduced in art and revered in literature. Contemporary advertising ot'ten pairs a beautiful woman with exposed cleavage, draped in a sexy outfit, with a product to promote sales. The subliminal theme portrayed is that a particular car, appliance, wearing apparel, or perfume will guarantee sexual appeal (if not the actual beauty) of the woman projected in the ad. With such powerful messages and pressures placed on beautiful, bountiful breasts, a woman facing breast cancer surgery may feel arixious, vulnerable, angry, and depressed. The real or imagined threat of loss or mutilation of one:s breast because of breast cancer treatment may elicit a host of concerns: the possibility of a premature death, concern about breast amputation, and anxiety about body image and self-esteem. This article will describe the cultural attitudes and pregsures that predispose contemporary women to breast anxiety, outline possible psychodynamics that contribute to psychosexual morbidity following breast cancer surgeries, and identify remedial strategies in the hope of mitigating the distress associated with these issues, which is too often neglected in patient care. Many women equate attractiveness or sense of worth with their body image rating and sexual attractiveness. Margaret Mead Cogently noted, .. : the American i:ulture . . . is so obsessed with the female breast that it has become the primary focus of a woman's total feminine identification. ''l This preoccupation with presence and size of breasts commences at an early age.