Body image and confidence after breast cancer

The short version

  • Breast cancer and its treatment can change how your body looks and feels. In a 2022 survey, 44% of women with breast cancer said it had negatively affected their body image.1
  • Feelings about your body often change over time. Practical help, such as a well-fitted breast prosthesis and bra, can make a real difference to confidence.
  • You don’t have to cope alone. Free support is available from your breast care nurse and UK charities.

Changes you may notice

Depending on your treatment, you may have:

  • a scar, or a change in the shape or size of one or both breasts
  • a reconstructed breast that looks and feels different
  • hair loss, or changes to your skin, nails or eyebrows
  • weight changes
  • swelling in your arm or breast (lymphoedema)
  • menopausal symptoms, or changes to your sex life

It’s normal to feel upset, self-conscious or not like yourself. Some people find it hard to look at their body at first. Others feel more accepting than they expected. There’s no right way to feel.

Things that can help

  • Take your time. Look at your body when you feel ready, perhaps with someone you trust.
  • Focus on what your body can do. Being active can help you feel stronger and more confident in your body.2
  • Look after your scar. Scar massage can help it become softer and flatter. See wound and scar care.
  • Talk about it, with your partner, friends, your breast care nurse or others who have been through it.
  • Find clothes that work for you. Many high-street shops sell post-surgery bras and swimwear.

Breast prostheses

If you’ve had a mastectomy without reconstruction, you can choose to wear a breast prosthesis (a false breast shape) inside your bra.3

  • Straight after surgery, your nurse can give you a soft, lightweight prosthesis you can wear even while the area is tender.
  • A silicone prosthesis is usually fitted around six weeks after surgery, once your scar has healed and any radiotherapy is finished.
  • Many types are free on the NHS, and you can usually get a replacement every two to three years, or sooner if your weight changes.
  • Swim prostheses aren’t available on the NHS.3

Ask your breast care nurse how to get a fitting. If you’d like to explore reconstruction at a later date, you can ask about that too.

When to get more support

Talk to your breast care nurse or GP if feelings about your body are affecting your mood, relationships or everyday life, or if you’re avoiding things you used to enjoy. They can refer you for psychological support, or you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies in England.4

Free support

  • Breast Cancer Now helpline: free on 0808 800 6000, answered by nurses.1
  • Moving Forward, Breast Cancer Now’s free course after treatment.5
  • Look Good Feel Better runs wellbeing workshops and classes for people living with cancer, online and in communities across the UK, with practical advice on appearance changes.6

Related pages

Everyone’s treatment is different, so talk to your cancer team about what is right for you.

References

  1. Breast Cancer Now. 44% of women with breast cancer say it negatively impacted their body image (YouGov survey of 1,007 women). May 2022. breastcancernow.org/about-us/media/press-releases/44-women-breast-cancer-say-it-negatively-impacted-their-body-image
  2. Campbell KL, Winters-Stone KM, Wiskemann J, et al. Exercise guidelines for cancer survivors: consensus statement from international multidisciplinary roundtable. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2019;51(11):2375–2390. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002116
  3. Cancer Research UK. Breast prostheses (false breast shapes) after surgery. www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/breast-cancer/treatment/surgery/after-surgery/false-breast-shape
  4. NHS. NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression. www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/
  5. Breast Cancer Now. Moving Forward: support after breast cancer treatment. breastcancernow.org/support-for-you/moving-forward
  6. Look Good Feel Better. Workshops and support for people living with cancer. lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk/