Experiences of body image changes in Chinese hematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors: A qualitative study

This study aimed to explore the experiences of body image changes in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors in China and to depict how those changes affected their perception of self and body.

A qualitative descriptive approach was applied to provide a straight and comprehensive understanding of experiences in body image changes. Twenty hematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors who underwent transplantation at a Chinese tertiary hospital were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using conventional content analysis. Reporting adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research Checklist.

Three themes and 11 subthemes were identified: (1) I am an inferior person (a distinctly weird appearance, an impaired body function, and depending on external resources for survival); (2) I am a person struggling to reconcile with my changed body (struggling to conceal or disclose my changed body, negotiating the impact of my changed body on my work identity, struggling to understand and care for my changed body, and catching up in rumination over my changed body); and (3) I am a brand-new person (having escaped from the gate of hell, enhanced appearance, optimized personality, possessed sublimated emotions).

This qualitative study offers novel insights into the experiences of body image changes in patients with hematological cancers post-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation within the Chinese context. It also presents a journey toward accepting body image changes. Further research is warranted to explore the underlying mechanisms linking body image changes to shifts in self-identity, and the process of body image acceptance.