Yet, until recently, few culturally acceptable materials were available, and there continues to be a need to develop resource materials for Native American women and other audiences interested in reducing cancer morbidity and mortality among native Americans. Many older Native Peoples respect and prefer traditional medicine over medicine practiced by Western populations. There are numerous misconceptions related to cancer. For example, some Native Americans believe that a cancer diagnosis is synonymous with a death sentence. Sickness and death in general are perceived differently in Native cultures than among non-natives.
Elders are respected and family members who are ill are cared for in the home.
To date,there are 217 native languages spoken and for some older native people, English may be a second language or not spoken at all. In other languages, the same word is used to describe epilepsy, leprosy, and cancer, and there is no way to distinguish among such disorders. Many native cultures believe that one should not discuss a disease such as cancer because to discuss it is to invite the disease into one's body. Finally, the native rate of speech among many tribes is significantly slower than the rate of speech among most non-natives.