**1. Introduction**

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy and is also the most common cause of death in women. In 2020 around 2.3 million cases were diagnosed, there were 7.8 million women alive with a breast cancer diagnosis made in the last 5 years and 685 thousand estimated deaths [1]. The rates of curative treatment and overall survival have also been increasing, and the prognosis has been improving [2]. Nevertheless, diagnosis and multiple treatments come with short- and long-term adverse physical and psychological effects that affect the quality of life of patients and survivors [3, 4].

Either present or absent, the breast is a significantly visual body part [5]. The breast is also a highly symbolic organ associated with motherhood, femininity, and self-image. These symbols evoke dimensions that range from nutrition to eroticism across multiple cultures [6]. Therefore, the diagnosis of breast cancer has a profound physical and psychosocial impact on women. That is, an attack on the integrity of the woman's breast is more than a physical attack, but also an attack to the femininity symbol, bearing a notable intimate, social and cultural significance [6] and impacting socio-emotional well-being [7].

Going through the entire post-diagnostic and therapeutic period often implies taking a transformative journey through a suspended femininity, lived in a different body. The concept of body goes beyond its physical dimension and should be replaced by the concept of corporeality, which is related to an existential perspective of the body, that encompasses multiple dimensions of the human being, such as the physical body, the mental and the spiritual dimension [8]. Merleau Ponty's model allows a perspective on the person beyond the 'biomedical' perspective or even the 'psychological' perspective. The body itself, the sick body in breast cancer, is considered a space of existence where many dynamics intersect and are experienced: internal and external, past and present, anticipated and bereaved, accompanied and lonely. Hence, breast cancer should be considered from a holistic perspective, enabling the connection of the different mind–body dimensions. Such an integrative approach will result in integrated interventions that allow women with breast cancer to rediscover and rebuild themselves in this new body throughout a transformative journey.
