Conclusions : The available literature suggests that African American breast cancer survivors adhere to interventions of various modalities and are capable of making modest to significant changes .
Background : African American breast cancer survivors have a higher incidence of estrogen receptor negative and basal-like ( e.g. , triple negative ) tumors , placing them at greater risk for poorer survival when compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups .
While access to equitable care , late disease stage at diagnosis , tumor biology , and sociodemographic characteristics contribute to health disparities , poor lifestyle characteristics ( i.e. , inactivity , obesity , and poor diet ) contribute equally to these disparities .
Lifestyle interventions hold promise in shielding African American survivors from second cancers , comorbidities , and premature mortality , but they are often underrepresented in studies promoting positive behaviors .
This review examined the available literature to document health behaviors and lifestyle intervention ( i.e. , obesity , physical activity , and sedentary behavior ) studies in African American breast cancer survivors .
Influence of pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity on mortality in breast cancer survivors: the health, eating, activity, and lifestyle study.
PURPOSE To investigate the association between pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity ( as well as change in prediagnosis to postdiagnosis physical activity ) and mortality among women with breast cancer . PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a prospect i ve observational study of 933 women enrolled onto the Health , Eating , Activity , and Lifestyle Study who were diagnosed with local or regional breast cancer between 1995 and 1998 and observed until death or September 2004 , whichever came first . The primary outcomes measured were total deaths and breast cancer deaths . The primary exposures were  physical activity in the year before and 2 years after diagnosis and the pre- to postdiagnosis change in physical activity . RESULTS Compared with inactive women , the multivariable hazard ratios ( HRs ) for total deaths for women expending at least 9 metabolic equivalent hours per week ( approximately 2 to 3 h/wk of brisk walking ) were 0.69 ( 95 % CI , 0.45 to 1.06 ; P = .045 ) for those active in the year before diagnosis and 0.33 ( 95 % CI , 0.15 to 0.73 ; P = .046 ) for those active 2 years after diagnosis . Compared with women who were inactive both before and after diagnosis , women who increased physical activity  after diagnosis had a 45 % lower risk of death ( HR = 0.55 ; 95 % CI , 0.22 to 1.38 ) , and women who decreased physical activity  after diagnosis had a four-fold greater risk of death ( HR = 3.95 ; 95 % CI , 1.45 to 10.50 ) . CONCLUSION Moderate-intensity physical activity after a diagnosis of breast cancer may improve prognosis
Conclusions : The available literature suggests that African American breast cancer survivors adhere to interventions of various modalities and are capable of making modest to significant changes .
Background : African American breast cancer survivors have a higher incidence of estrogen receptor negative and basal-like ( e.g. , triple negative ) tumors , placing them at greater risk for poorer survival when compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups .
While access to equitable care , late disease stage at diagnosis , tumor biology , and sociodemographic characteristics contribute to health disparities , poor lifestyle characteristics ( i.e. , inactivity , obesity , and poor diet ) contribute equally to these disparities .
Lifestyle interventions hold promise in shielding African American survivors from second cancers , comorbidities , and premature mortality , but they are often underrepresented in studies promoting positive behaviors .
This review examined the available literature to document health behaviors and lifestyle intervention ( i.e. , obesity , physical activity , and sedentary behavior ) studies in African American breast cancer survivors .