TY - JOUR
T1 - Latina Breast Cancer Survivors' Lived Experiences
T2 - Diagnosis, Treatment, and Beyond
AU - Buki, Lydia P.
AU - Garcés, D. Marcela
AU - Hinestrosa, M. Carolina
AU - Kogan, Lori
AU - Carrillo, Iris Y.
AU - French, Bryana
PY - 2008/4/1
Y1 - 2008/4/1
N2 - Latina breast cancer survivors are not benefiting from advances in psychosocial interventions. Despite their greater breast cancer burden, there is a dearth of information about this population. This qualitative study examined the experiences of 18 immigrant Latina breast cancer survivors along the survivorship continuum, from diagnosis to long-term survivorship. The authors conducted separate focus groups with women in the acute, reentry, and long-term survivorship stages. Through grounded theory analysis, the authors uncovered 5 themes of experience: perceptions of psychological well-being, impact of diagnosis, impact of treatment, need for social support, and development of new attitudes. Some themes were applicable across all survivorship stages, whereas others were more salient at a particular stage. Within themes, the authors identified experiences reported in the general literature (i.e., the debilitating effect of chemotherapy) and distinct cultural experiences (i.e., fear that a cancer diagnosis leads to certain death). Results suggest that treatments tailored for each survivorship stage are more likely to be effective than generic interventions. These findings have the potential to lessen health disparities in utilization of psychosocial treatments by Latina breast cancer survivors.
AB - Latina breast cancer survivors are not benefiting from advances in psychosocial interventions. Despite their greater breast cancer burden, there is a dearth of information about this population. This qualitative study examined the experiences of 18 immigrant Latina breast cancer survivors along the survivorship continuum, from diagnosis to long-term survivorship. The authors conducted separate focus groups with women in the acute, reentry, and long-term survivorship stages. Through grounded theory analysis, the authors uncovered 5 themes of experience: perceptions of psychological well-being, impact of diagnosis, impact of treatment, need for social support, and development of new attitudes. Some themes were applicable across all survivorship stages, whereas others were more salient at a particular stage. Within themes, the authors identified experiences reported in the general literature (i.e., the debilitating effect of chemotherapy) and distinct cultural experiences (i.e., fear that a cancer diagnosis leads to certain death). Results suggest that treatments tailored for each survivorship stage are more likely to be effective than generic interventions. These findings have the potential to lessen health disparities in utilization of psychosocial treatments by Latina breast cancer survivors.
KW - breast cancer
KW - cancer survivorship
KW - Latina women
KW - psychological well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=43049174706&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=43049174706&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/1099-9809.14.2.163
DO - 10.1037/1099-9809.14.2.163
M3 - Article
C2 - 18426289
AN - SCOPUS:43049174706
VL - 14
SP - 163
EP - 167
JO - Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
JF - Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
SN - 1099-9809
IS - 2
ER -