[The experience of women after breast cancer mastectomy: objectification theory perspective]

The female breast is intimately tied to social values that define the ideal body standard for women. As such, women's bodies are regarded as objects to be evaluated and judged. This paper analyzed the experience of women with breast cancer after mastectomy from the perspective of objectification theory. The authors found that not only medical technology but women themselves objectified the female body. The process of patient-physician communication also strengthened the objectification phenomenon for post-mastectomy women. We found that women with breast cancer worried about facing critical evaluation from the public after losing their breasts and needed to cope with the stress of losing a part of their physical self. Social and cultural antecedents that regard breasts as "objects" strongly influence the perspectives of women facing breast cancer. We hope this analysis may assist healthcare professionals to understand how women's bodies are objectified after mastectomy and consider how to care for this population more appropriately.