IMPAIRED BODY-IMAGE OF YOUNG FEMALE SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA

The purpose of this study was to assess the body image of young female survivors of leukemia. Young female survivors of leukemia (n = 42) we re compared with healthy age-matched control subjects (n = 69). The st udy included a semistructured fact-to face interview and psychological test. The data were separated into three distinct evaluations of each subject's body image: 1) the subject's self-assessment, 2) evaluation by a psychiatrist, and 3) the Rorschach test, The body images of the survivors were inferior to those of the control subjects in all three evaluations (P<0.001). The preceding leukemia was assessed still as ex tremely threatening in 26% of the survivors.