Echar pa'lante: Coping Strategies for Dealing with Cancer among Latino Men

Background: There is a paucity of research on the experiences and coping strategies used by Latino men to manage feelings of fear, uncertainty, and changing social relationships and economic circumstances after cancer diagnosis and treatment.  Coping strategies vary by individual, but are also socioculturally-mediated. This presentation contributes to understandings of how Latino men cope with cancer.

Methods: Thematic analysis techniques were used to summarize the qualitative findings from three focus groups (n=18), debriefings and field notes from 82 interviews with Latino male cancer survivors.

Results:  Participants shared diverse reactions to the cancer diagnosis, which included worries related to changes in family dynamics and responsibilities, economic stability, and disease management.  Various coping strategies to deal with their cancer experience were employed, including a strengthened faith in God, positive thinking and optimism, folk/home remedies, and proactive lifestyle changes.

Conclusions: From this study we gained knowledge about the cancer experience of Latino male cancer survivors in terms of their response to diagnosis and strategies to maintain their emotional and social wellbeing. The strategies used by Latino male cancer survivors gave them sense of empowerment and agency in a time of uncertainty and influenced men’s perceptions of their psychosocial and physical health outcomes.  These findings contribute to understanding the sociocultural context of the survivorship journey for Latino men and provide guidance for how to best develop evidence-based psychosocial services that build on the strengths and strategies employed by this understudied population.