The assessment of body image in cancer patients

It is well recognised that cancer treatment can have a negative impact on body image, and this has proved to be an important outcome variable in treatment comparisons, such as surgery for breast cancer. However, there has been a good deal of variation in the way in which dissatisfaction with body image has been assessed, making comparison of results difficult. Some scales or subscales appear promising but lack the rigorous testing required to confirm their accuracy and reliability. This paper reviews the techniques and questionnaires that have been used for the evaluation of body image and highlights their strengths and weaknesses with respect to their use with cancer patients. At the present time, no single scale stands out as the ideal measure, but a pool of items can be generated from recent research, which merit future evaluation.