Buong Puso (Whole Heart): A CBPR Approach to Filipina Breast Cancer Support Services

Background: Despite a rate of breast cancer higher than most other Asian subgroups, Filipinas with breast cancer are underserved. Data suggest that support services have to be tailored to their social and cultural values. Methods: To answer our research question, “what support model is meaningful for Filipinas with breast cancer?”, we formed an advisory council of six native-born Filipinas with experiences of breast cancer. The council's task was to design a culturally meaningful and sustainable support program drawing on their own experiences and findings from ethnographic interviews and participant observation done by the research team. A challenge was working through how the council should go about this task, as some members had met for the first time and had no formal training in collaborative program development or social science research. More comfortable in their roles as mothers, daughters, and wives, council members were unaccustomed to drawing attention to themselves and their needs. Results: After reviewing existing breast cancer support program models and finding them wanting, and considering ethnographic data presented by the research team, the council suggested beginning by giving the support program a name based on a Filipino cultural value, thereby using their own cultural context and background as a resource to answer the research question. From the Tagalog word -- buong puso (whole heart) –- the council specified support services and the reasons for their appropriateness. In the process, they shared their own personal experiences and shed light on the challenges confronted by Filipinas with breast cancer.