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 .
A pilot trial of spirituality counseling for weight loss maintenance in African American breast cancer survivors.
A continuing challenge in weight loss treatment is attaining maintenance of weight loss . The goal of this study was to develop a counseling method that would assist African American breast cancer survivors with weight loss maintenance . In this pilot study , 31 obese breast cancer survivors were recruited .  Individualized , dietitian-led counseling by telephone and free Weight Watchers coupons were provided to all participants for 18 months . At the 6-month time point , women were r and omized to receive spirituality counseling or not in addition to the st and ard program . The spirituality counseling was delivered via telephone using an 8-step framework . Subjects were asked to utilize  daily meditation or prayer , daily readings  , and the recording of thoughts in a journal . Mean weight loss from baseline to 6 months was a modest 2.0 % of baseline weight . From 6 to 18 months , there was no further weight change in the spirituality arm and a gain of 0.7 % in the dietitian-only arm . Despite little effect on weight loss , it did appear that spirituality counseling positively affected spiritual well-being ( FACIT-Sp ) scores and dietary quality . The spirituality counseling framework therefore may be further refined and useful for other health promotion studies with African American population
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 .