Researchers Ewing and Forte (UCSF) and Yoo and Levine (SFSU) are committed to understanding how breast cancer diagnosis has impacted quality of life in racial and ethnic minority women in the San Francisco Bay Area. The study is exploratory and is focused particularly on the experiences of African American, Chinese American, Chinese American and White women who are breast cancer survivors. Our collaborative goal is qualitatively and quantitatively to assess the impact of breast cancer on survivors from diverse groups, through in-depth interviews and a questionnaire exploring the psychosocial impact of breast cancer, the role and meaning of social support, and the impact of breast on quality of life. The SFSU and UCSF investigators will test several hypotheses including the following: 1) The needs of African-American and Chinese American women diagnosed with breast cancer are significantly different from the needs of white women diagnosed with breast cancer; 2) The perceived quality of life of African American and Chinese American women diagnosed with breast cancer is higher than the perceived quality of life of white women diagnosed with breast cancer; 3) The levels of distress of African American and Chinese American women will be higher than those of white women; 4) The needs of types of social support will be different between African American women , Chinese American women and white women. The findings will contribute to the understanding within the broader health, social services and policy communities of how to best the needs of breast cancer survivors from diverse populations. Relationship to the Overall Objectives of the Partnership between UCSF and SFSU The researchers from UCSF and SFSU plan to accomplish the following: (1) create a long-term collaborative research relationship in the area of health disparities and breast cancer survivorship; and (2) train and develop undergraduate students in the area of cancer research. To fulfill, the investigators will work closely with UCSFCCC to: recruit minority women for the proposed study and future studies; collaborate on future research grants to NCI (i.e. R01s); and collaborate on publications for peer-reviewed journals (e.g. Psycho-Oncology) and presentations (e.g. Intercultural Cancer Council). The investigators will actively facilitate the involvement of undergraduate students from underrepresented minorities in this project by training and hiring four such students from SFSU as paid research assistants for this project. Implications Previous studies examining social support (44, 45), quality of life (3,46) and breast cancer survivors have used qualitative methods to supplement their quantitative findings. The collaborative work between SFSU and UCSF will be complementary because of the quantitative (UCSF) and qualitative (SFSU) approaches we plan to use. In this study we expect to find changes in family relationships will also slow changes in both populations. The findings of the study will help use identify and develop several testable hypotheses and culturally-appropriate interventions which may be used for a larger study. Although exploratory, this project will make a contribution to the search area of breast cancer survivorship. The lack of available research among diverse groups signifies a serious public information need. The findings may provide the broader health, social services, and policy communities with new ideas about how to meet the needs of breast cancer survivors from diverse populations. Through understanding the social support needs of breast cancer survivors form these populations, culturally tailored social support programs can be implemented that can ultimately enhance the quality of life for breast cancer survivors in these communities.
| Nguyen, Tung T; Love, Mary Beth; Liang, Cindy et al. (2010) A pilot study of lay health worker outreach and colorectal cancer screening among Chinese Americans. J Cancer Educ 25:405-12 |
| Li, Fusheng; Pham, Johnny D; Anderson, Marc O et al. (2009) Nordihydroguaiaretic acid inhibits transforming growth factor beta type 1 receptor activity and downstream signaling. Eur J Pharmacol 616:31-7 |
| Lometti, Michael W; Thurston, Damon; Aubin, Michele et al. (2008) Are lateral electronic portal images adequate for accurate on-line daily targeting of the prostate? Results of a prospective study. Med Dosim 33:22-9 |
| Lawton, Colleen A; DeSilvio, Michelle; Roach 3rd, Mack et al. (2007) An update of the phase III trial comparing whole pelvic to prostate only radiotherapy and neoadjuvant to adjuvant total androgen suppression: updated analysis of RTOG 94-13, with emphasis on unexpected hormone/radiation interactions. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 69:646-55 |
