Abstract B66: Beliefs about cancer etiology, health behaviors, and treatment patterns among multiethnic breast cancer survivors.
Authors: Gonzalez Patricia , Flores Katrina , Allen Kristi , Rosales Monica , Castaneda Sheila , Talavera Gregory , Lim Jung-Won , Wang-Letzkus Ming , Ashing-Giwa Kimlin 
Published: August 2014

Purpose: The aims of this study are to (1) explore similarities and differences in cultural beliefs concerning the causes of breast cancer among Chinese-, Korean-, and Mexican-American breast cancer survivors using focus group interview data, and (2) explore whether cultural beliefs influence health behaviors and treatment patterns, such as screening behaviors or follow-up care.

Methods: An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study consisting of Chinese- (n = 21, 51.2%), Korean- (n = 11, 26.8%), and Mexican-American (n = 9, 22%) women was conducted. Participants were recruited through community and hospital-based support groups or the City of Hope cancer registry. A total of six focus groups (two per ethnic group) were conducted. Discussions were tape-recorded, transcribed, and translated for content analysis of common themes and patterns through qualitative methodology. Qualitative analyses were conducted through NVivo 9.0 software, where the common themes and patterns that emerged among all three groups were categorized and used to conduct summary statements that capture participant's beliefs and address the aims of the study.

Results: Preliminary results revealed that participants believe the cause of breast cancer is primarily due to stress-related factors, with some participant's highlighting family stressors and general lifestyle stress. Furthermore, the results indicated a mixture of both positive and negative feelings regarding overall breast cancer treatment experience. Specifically, patients reported their doctor's personal characteristics (inattentiveness) to have influenced their overall treatment experience. There were similar perceived barriers and facilitators to accessing proper care or treatment among the three ethnic minority groups, with some patients believing insurance influences accessibility.

Conclusions/Implications: Themes extracted from these focus groups revealed cultural causal health beliefs such as diet, exercise and stress-related factors. Some cultural health beliefs about the causes of breast cancer appear to be significant barriers preventing Chinese-, Korean-, and Mexican- American women from seeking the most healthy behaviors and appropriate lifestyle changes regarding breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Findings provide greater understanding of health behaviors and cancer beliefs among ethnic minority populations living in the U.S., which may guide the development of culturally and ethnically tailored breast cancer awareness strategies to ultimately improve the quality of life among these underserved subgroups. Findings may be used to inform medical practitioners about their patients' beliefs concerning their treatment preferences which may then guide how medical practioners address their patient's treatment needs within a culturally specific context.

Citation Format: Patricia Gonzalez, Katrina Flores, Kristi Allen, Monica Rosales, Sheila Castaneda, Gregory Talavera, Jung-Won Lim, Ming Wang-Letzkus, Kimlin Ashing-Giwa. Beliefs about cancer etiology, health behaviors, and treatment patterns among multiethnic breast cancer survivors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B66.