scholarly journals ‘I’ve got a very dichotomous difference in the way that I perceive myself’: Positive and negative constructions of body image following cancer treatment

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1368-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Grogan ◽  
Jayne Mechan ◽  
Sofia Persson ◽  
Sive Finlay ◽  
Matthew Hall

This study investigated how women constructed body image following cancer. Four women, aged 32–67 years, who had experienced breast or bowel cancer took part in a 2-hour, in-depth focus group. Discourse analysis revealed that women orientated to positive aspects of the post-treatment body (silhouette, trust, acceptance) while acknowledging that their experiences were also traumatic (hair loss, scarring, sickness, swelling). Bodies and illness were concealed from public judgment, and women developed new trust in their bodies due to overcoming cancer; post-cancer bodies were accepted despite opportunities for normalisation. Implications for those wanting to support women during and after cancer are discussed.

Hair loss (alopecia) 636 Scalp cooling (scalp hypothermia) 638 Oral mucositis and related problems 640 Oral mucositis: managing the process and symptoms 644 Oesophagitis 646 Oral care in advanced cancer 647 Malignant wounds 648 Lymphoedema 650 Hair loss can be a distressing side effect of cancer treatment; it impacts on body image and feelings of attractiveness, creates anxiety and causes a visual reminder of the disease and treatment. Alopecia is not a major side effect for most people, but a small group of patients will become extremely distressed by it....


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e044322
Author(s):  
Wenqi Fu ◽  
Jufang Shi ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Chengcheng Liu ◽  
Chengyao Sun ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo determine the incidence and intensity of household impoverishment induced by cancer treatment in China.DesignAverage income and daily consumption per capita of the households and out-of-pocket payments for cancer care were estimated. Household impoverishment was determined by comparing per capita daily consumption against the Chinese poverty line (CPL, US$1.2) and the World Bank poverty line (WBPL, US$1.9) for 2015. Both pre-treatment and post-treatment consumptions were calculated assuming that the households would divert daily consumption money to pay for cancer treatment.ParticipantsCancer patients diagnosed initially from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016 who had received cancer treatment subsequently. Those with multiple cancer diagnoses were excluded.Data sourcesA household questionnaire survey was conducted on 2534 cancer patients selected from nine hospitals in seven provinces through two-stage cluster/convenience sampling.Findings5.89% (CPL) to 12.94% (WBPL) households were impoverished after paying for cancer treatment. The adjusted OR (AOR) of post-treatment impoverishment was higher for older patients (AOR=2.666–4.187 for ≥50 years vs <50 years, p<0.001), those resided in central region (AOR=2.619 vs eastern, p<0.01) and those with lower income (AOR=0.024–0.187 in higher income households vs the lowest 20%, p<0.001). The patients without coverage from social health insurance had higher OR (AOR=1.880, p=0.040) of experiencing post-treatment household impoverishment than those enrolled with the insurance for urban employees. Cancer treatment is associated with an increase of 5.79% (CPL) and 12.45% (WBPL) in incidence of household impoverishment. The median annual consumption gap per capita underneath the poverty line accumulated by the impoverished households reached US$128 (CPL) or US$212 (WBPL). US$31 170 395 (CPL) or US$115 238 459 (WBPL) were needed to avoid household impoverishment induced by cancer treatment in China.ConclusionsThe financial burden of cancer treatment imposes a significant risk of household impoverishment despite wide coverage of social health insurance in China.


AIDS Care ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 1456-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis K. Palmer ◽  
Katrina C. Duncan ◽  
Beza Ayalew ◽  
Wendy Zhang ◽  
Despina Tzemis ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-38
Author(s):  
Phillip Joy ◽  
Matthew Numer ◽  
Sara F. L. Kirk ◽  
Megan Aston

The construction of masculinities is an important component of the bodies and lives of gay men. The role of gay culture on body standards, body dissatisfaction, and the health of gay men was explored using poststructuralism and queer theory within an arts-based framework. Nine gay men were recruited within the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants were asked to photograph their beliefs, values, and practices relating to their bodies and food. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, using the photographs as guides. Data were analyzed by critical discourse analysis and resulted in three overarching threads of discourse including: (1) Muscles: The Bigger the Better, (2) The Silence of Hegemonic Masculinity, and (3) Embracing a New Day. Participants believed that challenging hegemonic masculinity was a way to work through body image tension.


Author(s):  
Yeşim Kaptan

This article investigates how Turkish audiences conceptualize authenticity in their engagement with foreign television (TV) productions in the case of Danish TV dramas. The theoretical notion of authenticity is juxtaposed with empirical material from fieldwork interactions, focus group interviews, and one-on-one interviews conducted with Turkish audiences between 2016 and 2018. By employing a semiotic analysis of fieldwork data, I argue that Turkish audiences attribute authenticity to the Danish TV drama series according to a socially created modality (truth value of a sign). This article draws on accounts about modality markers in TV drama series such as authentic portrayals of Danish TV characters and plausible-realistic depictions as a verisimilitudinous representation of everyday life. In the context of cross-cultural television viewing practices, the way Turkish audiences attribute meaning to Danish TV series in terms of authenticity, realism, and modality reveals a distinct differentiation between Danish TV dramas and other nationally and globally circulating media products.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-201
Author(s):  
Tim Schauer ◽  
Anne-Sophie Mazzoni ◽  
Anna Henriksson ◽  
Ingrid Demmelmaier ◽  
Sveinung Berntsen ◽  
...  

Exercise training has been hypothesized to lower the inflammatory burden for patients with cancer, but the role of exercise intensity is unknown. To this end, we compared the effects of high-intensity (HI) and low-to-moderate intensity (LMI) exercise on markers of inflammation in patients with curable breast, prostate and colorectal cancer undergoing primary adjuvant cancer treatment in a secondary analysis of the Phys-Can randomized trial (NCT02473003). Sub-group analyses focused on patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Patients performed 6 months of combined aerobic and resistance exercise on either HI or LMI during and after primary adjuvant cancer treatment. Plasma taken at baseline, immediately post-treatment and post-intervention was analyzed for levels of interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), IL6, IL8, IL10, tumor-necrosis factor alpha (TNFA) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Intention-to-treat analyses of 394 participants revealed no significant between-group differences. Regardless of exercise intensity, significant increases of IL6, IL8, IL10 and TNFA post-treatment followed by significant declines, except for IL8, until post-intervention were observed with no difference for CRP or IL1B. Subgroup analyses of 154 patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy revealed that CRP (estimated mean difference (95% CI): 0.59 (0.33; 1.06); P  = 0.101) and TNFA (EMD (95% CI): 0.88 (0.77; 1); P  = 0.053) increased less with HI exercise post-treatment compared to LMI. Exploratory cytokine co-regulation analysis revealed no difference between the groups. In patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy, HI exercise resulted in a lesser increase of CRP and TNFA immediately post-treatment compared to LMI, potentially protecting against chemotherapy-related inflammation.


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