The Impact of Unsupportive Social Support on the Injured Self in Breast Cancer Patients

A certain amount of social support is a fundamental human need and is associated with the belief that others have positive views about ourselves. Patients with chronic illness who receive high social support manage their health better (Nausheen et al., 2009; Martos-Méndez, 2015). For this reason, social support has been studied extensively in psycho-oncology. In breast cancer specifically, social support is crucial for the illness adjustment by decreasing distress, depression, and lowering the risk of recurrence (Drageset et al., 2016).