Understanding the Experiences of African American Women with Breast Cancer in Rural Eastern North Carolina

Purpose: While there is a wealth of information available concerning the barriers to breast cancer screening, there is still limited understanding concerning breast cancer survivorship among diverse groups of women. The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of breast cancer survivors’ experiences, barriers and facilitators in accessing breast cancer treatment, and challenges in adherence to survivorship plans.

Methods: We conducted 7 focus groups with 32 African American women with breast cancer in a two rural counties in Eastern North Carolina in 2013.  Surveys were utilized to gather basic demographic information and family health history information from each participant.

Results: Mean age of sample was 56 years old (SD=11.89), the majority of the sample were either divorced/widowed/separated (45%) or single (23%), half had a high school education or less (48%) and half had some college or higher (48%), most were insured (90%), and approximately 42% had an income of less than $20,000 a year. Preliminary themes include barriers to getting yearly recommended screening exams before diagnosis (i.e. no insurance, not recommended age for screenings); experience with breast cancer diagnosis; psychosocial factors (i.e. quality of life,  fear and anxiety, coping mechanisms, support systems, and body changes); and quality of care factors (i.e. doctor-patient relationship, treatment, side-effects of treatment, and being adherent to survivorship plan).  Final analysis of data will be presented at the conference.  

Conclusions: Results will provide a more in-depth understanding about the impact of sociocultural factors, factors that affect access to treatment, patient-doctor relationships, and survivorship.