Body image after a stem cell transplant

What is body image?

Our body image is:

• the way we think about and perceive our own physical appearance
• how we think we appear to other people looking at us.

When we’re feeling low in confidence and self-esteem, it’s easy to dwell on things that we don’t like about our bodies. By doing this, we forget the things we like about ourselves and find it hard to accept that we look good.

How does body image relate to stem cell transplant?

After overcoming such huge challenges with your health, you might now feel unhappy with parts of your physical appearance.

During your time in hospital and into your recovery, you might not have had much confidence in your health and your body. You might have also found that any slight change, blemish or minor issue felt like a sign of something more serious. Over time, you may have become more in tune with your body and pay lots of attention to how it looks and feels.

As your recovery progresses, you’ll hopefully feel less scared of something more serious developing. However, you may now have concerns about:

• how your body looks to yourself and others
• how well your body responds to physical activity
• how people will react when they see you again for the first time.

Why has my body changed?

You will have experienced many changes to your body during your treatment as well as your recovery. You might have expected some of these changes, but others may have come as a surprise and can feel more difficult to get used to.

Some changes to your body are temporary and many people begin to see improvements as their recovery progresses. For example, you may notice or already have experienced changes like:

Hair loss

Most people who have chemotherapy lose their hair shortly after starting the treatment.

Weight loss

For all sorts of reasons, from diet to nausea, avoiding weight loss can be difficult during the first few weeks of recovery.

Weight gain

Long-term use of steroids can cause weight gain. You might take steroids to treat GvHD.

Skin changes

Physical side effects like graft versus host disease (GvHD) might cause your skin to become dry, blotchy or develop a rash. Some treatments can also cause scarring.

If you have any concerns about what’s happening to your body, it’s important to discuss them with your medical team. They can provide both practical and emotional support.

How can I regain my body confidence?

It might seem hard to believe, but you’ll probably find that people are less interested in your appearance than you might think – especially people you don’t know.

Try preparing yourself for how people might talk to you. This will help you feel more confident and stay in control of the situation. You may find some of the following ideas useful:

Build up to seeing groups of people

It will take time to feel like you’re getting back to normal. It might seem daunting to imagine seeing people you know and watching them react to how you look. Start off by seeing a few close friends in a place you feel comfortable, then slowly build up to bigger social situations when you feel more confident.

Try to be assertive

Take control of the situation and only talk about things on your terms. If someone asks you a question about your body or physical experience, be upfront and share as much or as little as you’d like. Try to say you aren’t comfortable talking about certain things and change the subject to something else.

Use humour and jokes

If you feel comfortable making a joke related to your situation, it can often help with awkwardness around certain topics.

Prepare for strange questions

Some people, especially younger children, might ask an inappropriate question about your appearance at some point. Think about how you might want to respond to strange questions so you feel more in control when it happens.

If you experience stress and anxiety because of concerns about your body image, you may benefit from talking to a therapist or counsellor. For more information, see our section on talking therapies.

Where can I look for support?

With time, a lot of people find they start to feel better about their body image and worry less about it. But there are charities and organisations that can offer more support, if you need it:

Look Good Feel Better

Offers a range of services including online and in-person beauty tutorials, and makeover workshops for people living with the effects of cancer treatment.

The Little Princess Trust

If you or someone in your family decides they’d like to try wearing a wig, this charity provides free wigs to children and young adults. Some hospitals also offer wigs free of charge.

Big C

Offers drop-in sessions at their centres to help you experiment with different types of headwear, including a support team who can help you with styling.

If you’re looking for help with your general mental health and wellbeing, you can find more details on our page about finding support.