Affected self-respect and self-value: the impact of breast cancer treatment on self-esteem and QoL.

There is a need to understand and explain the impact of breast cancer on women's self-esteem and quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to identify and describe, from the perspective of the women's lived experiences, the impact of breast cancer on women's self-esteem and elucidate its impact on their quality of life. Thirteen women diagnosed as having breast cancer were interviewed about these phenomena. The narrated interviews, tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim were analysed and interpreted using a qualitative text analysis, based on the following question: What sense of satisfaction and importance is there with respect to the women's value and preferences? The findings were interpreted as affected self-respect and self-value, which were found to be important aspects affecting the quality of life of these women, within this lies the satisfaction of desire, to be respected and loved as the women they are. Concerns related to their quality of life seemed to be heightened when treatment has been completed, i.e. when the psychological effects of the treatment experience become a reality. Health professional need to be aware of how to recognise these women, in order to provide them with support to maintain a positive self-esteem to enhance quality of life as a caring outcome. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.