Introduction:

the increase in breast cancer in women has also led to an increase in mastectomized women, who need self-care for their prompt recovery. In this sense, self-care guidelines can be a favorable solution.

Objective:

to analyze the evidence available in the literature on the particularities of self-care guidelines for mastectomized patients with breast cancer.

Methods:

an integrative review was carried out on the articles published in the Virtual Health Library and in the databases: SciELO, BDENF, and PubMed from 2000 to 2018. The different guide formats developed in different countries on self-care in mastectomized patients, as well as their treatment, implementation and obtained results were reviewed. Seven articles were selected for this analysis, according to the search strategy. The following criteria were used for their inclusion: original studies, used methodology, carried out in any territory worldwide, published in English, Spanish or Portuguese, and available in full text.

Conclusions:

the studies included in this research contributed key elements for designing nursing interventions, given the inclusion of the necessary and understandable contents for their implementation. This study allowed us to know the performance of specialists from other regions in mastectomized patients. The information obtained will lead to possible changes in the healthcare processes for the care of mastectomized patients.