**4. Conclusions**

Breast cancer is a significant challenge to women's body, identity and quality of life. All the changes associated with breast cancer are deeply rooted in a painful corporeality, threatened by its continuity, visibility and well-being. Therefore, either in the diagnosis, the treatment or the survival phase, the real body (internal and external) and the imaginary body must be carefully considered. Minimizing the impact of cancer on physical well-being is important. But mourning the previous body, rediscovering the pleasure and possibilities of the new body, and reorganizing the intimate and social identity is of paramount importance, bringing benefits for emotional and social well-being.

Psychomotor therapy is a beneficial, complementary approach to medical care for women with breast cancer. In the field of pain and psychosomatic changes, psychomotor therapy enables a unique experience of the body and a reconstruction of women's identity, which results in improved health and quality of life.

#### **Acknowledgements**

This work would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and involvement of Daniela Guerreiro, Joana Oliveira and Marta Fonseca, the psychomotor therapists who carried out the interventions described. We would also like to thank the women who participated in these programs, and the Oncology Department of the Hospital do Espírito Santo of Évora, especially Doctor Rui Dinis.

*Complementary Therapies*
