Sociology of breast tissue

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer, mastectomy and treatment in oncology injure body and self. In this field study we investigate concerns, needs, anxieties and decision-making processes of patients after they are diagnosed with breast cancer. Six patients, who underwent immediate breast reconstruction and six with secondary plastic surgeries after mastectomy, tell their stories. They share their experiences and histories with me, a sociologist and communication scientist, who accompanies them during surgical treatment and beyond. With the documentation of subjective breast reconstruction narratives we aim at deepening an understanding of socio-cultural, political and symbolic meanings of female body tissue. METHODS: The crucial aim of this ethnographic long-term project is the exploration of emotional, social, cultural and gender specific aspects, which determine the life quality of breast reconstruction patients – including these categories into therapeutic concepts. RESULTS: Surgical reshaping of the body's integrity requires the inclusion of psychosocial and cultural factors, which are defined by each single individual woman herself. With the help of this research data indications and therapeutic conceptions can be individually improved. CONCLUSIONS: A mutual translation and mediation process is inspired. Surgeons strengthen their understanding of the patients' voices and languages. Treated women plunge into the imaginary worlds of their plastic and reconstructive surgeons.