Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Keeping us all whole: Acknowledging the agency of African American breast cancer survivors and their systems of social support

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Supportive Care in Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While all cancer patients face a bewildering array of treatments, side effects, and emotions, several researchers have shown that African American women with breast cancer experience greater stress and burdens because of unmet supportive needs associated with psychological distress, financial distress, and lower physical/functional well-being. Social support has been shown to improve health outcomes for African American breast cancer patients. The purpose of this paper is to understand the meaning of social support among African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. A total of 47 African American women with breast cancer participated in the in-depth qualitative interviews. Key findings indicate that social support was received in the context of the stability of the extended family network. Moreover, social support was received in the context of distributing the social support received among many members in their personal networks and that social support was only received on patient’s own terms. The findings of this paper provide an understanding to the inter-relational and cultural meanings of receiving support by diverse cancer patients. In addition, the findings of this paper have implications for health care professionals working with African American breast cancer patients in understanding how social support can be received.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. American Cancer Society (2016) Cancer facts and figures for African Americans 2016–2018. American Cancer Society, Atlanta https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/cancer-facts-and-figures-for-african-americans/cancer-facts-and-figures-for-african-americans-2016-2018.pdf . Accessed  1 March 2018

  2. Supportive PDQ, Board PCE (2017) Adjustment to cancer: anxiety and distress (PDQ®)

  3. Burgess C, Cornelius V, Love S (2005) Depression and anxiety in women with early breast cancer: five-year observational cohort study. BMJ 330:702

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Fors EA, Bertheussen GF, Thune I, Juvet LK, Elvsaas IK, Oldervoll L, Leivseth G (2011) Psychosocial interventions as part of breast cancer rehabilitation programs? Results from a systematic review. Psycho-Oncology 20(9):909–918

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Williams DR, Mohammed SA, Shields AE (2016) Understanding and effectively addressing breast cancer in African American women: unpacking the social context. Cancer 122(14):2138–2149

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Samuel CA, Pinheiro LC, Reeder-Hayes KE, Walker JS, Corbie-Smith G, Fashaw SA, Woods-Giscombe C, Wheeler SB (2016) To be young, black, and living with breast cancer: a systematic review of health-related quality of life in young black breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 160(1):1–15

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Davis CM, Nyamathi AM, Abuatiq A, Fike GC, Wilson AM (2016) Understanding supportive care factors among African American breast cancer survivors. J Transcult Nurs, 1043659616670713

  8. Fong AJ, Scarapicchia TM, McDonough MH, Wrosch C, Sabiston CM (2017) Changes in social support predict emotional well-being in breast cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology 26(5):664–671

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Shelby RA, Crespin TR, Wells-Di Gregorio SM, Lamdan RM, Siegel JE, Taylor KL (2008) Optimism, social support, and adjustment in African American women with breast cancer. J Behav Med 31(5):433–444

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Jutagir DR, Gudenkauf LM, Stagl JM, Carver CS, Bouchard LC, Lechner SC, Glück S, Blomberg BB, Antoni MH (2016) Ethnic differences in types of social support from multiple sources after breast cancer surgery. Ethn Health 21(5):411–425

  11. Kroenke CH, Michael YL, Shu XO, Poole EM, Kwan ML, Nechuta S, Caan BJ, Pierce JP, Chen WY (2017) Post diagnosis social networks and breast cancer mortality in the after breast cancer pooling project. Cancer 123(7):1228–1237

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Simien EM (2005) Race, gender, and linked fate. J Black Stud 35(5):529–550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Nobles W (1978) Toward an empirical and theoretical framework for defining black families. J Marriage Fam 40(4):679–688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Sanchez R, Vargas E (2016) Taking a closer look at group identity: the link between theory and measurement of group consciousness and linked fate. Polit Res Q 69(1):160–174

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Knobf MT (2007) Psychosocial responses in breast cancer survivors. Semin Oncol Nurs 23(1):71–83

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Paskett ED, Alfano CM, Davidson MA, Andersen BL, Naughton MJ, Sherman A, McDonald PG, Hays J (2008) Breast cancer survivors' health-related quality of life. Cancer 113(11):3222–3230

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Tejeda S, Stolley MR, Vijayasiri G, Campbell RT, Ferrans CE, Warnecke RB, Rauscher GH (2017) Negative psychological consequences of breast cancer among recently diagnosed ethnically diverse women. Psycho-Oncology 26(12):2245–2252

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Matthews AK, Tejeda S, Johnson TP, Berbaum ML, Manfredi C (2012) Correlates of quality of life among African American and white cancer survivors. Cancer Nurs 35(5):355–364

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Heiney S (2014) Social disconnection in African American women with breast cancer. Oncol Nurs Forum 41(1):E28–E34

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Mosavel M, Sanders KD (2010) Photovoice: a needs assessment of African American cancer survivors. J Psychosoc Oncol 28(6):630–643

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Haynes-Maslow L, Allicock M, Johnson LS (2016) Cancer support needs for African American breast cancer survivors and caregivers. J Cancer Educ 31(1):166–171

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. House JS, Kahn RL, McLeod JD, Williams D (1985) Measures and concepts of social support. In: Cohen S, Syme SL (eds) Social support and health. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  23. Hamilton JB, Sandelowski M (2004) Types of social support in African Americans with cancer. Oncol Nurs Forum 31(4):792–800

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Davis CM, Myers HF, Nyamathi AM, Brecht ML, Lewis MA, Hamilton N (2014) Biopsychosocial predictors of psychological functioning among African American breast cancer survivors. J Psychosoc Oncol 32(5):493–516

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Lynn B, Yoo GJ, Levine EG (2014) “Trust in the Lord”: religious and spiritual practices of African American breast cancer survivors. J Relig Health 53(6):1706–1716

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Pinheiro LC, Samuel CA, Reeder-Hayes KE, Wheeler SB, Olshan AF, Reeve BB (2016) Understanding racial differences in health-related quality of life in a population-based cohort of breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 159(3):535–543

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Hamilton JB, Sandelowski M (2003) Living the golden rule: reciprocal exchanges among African Americans with cancer. Qual Health Res 13(5):656–674

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Molina Y, Scherman A, Constant TH, Hempstead B et al (2016) Medical advocacy among African-American women diagnosed with breast cancer: from recipient to resource. Support Care Cancer 24(7):3077–3084

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Yoo GJ, Levine EG, Pasick R (2014) Breast cancer and coping among women of color: a systematic review of the literature. Support Care Cancer 22(3):811–824

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Corbin J, Strauss A. and Strauss AL (2014) Basics of qualitative research. Sage

  31. Staples R (1999) The black family: essays and studies. Wolf Creek Press/Forbes Mills Press, Wadsworth

    Google Scholar 

  32. Chatters L, Taylor R, Jayakod R (1994) Fictive kinship relations in black extended families. J Comp Fam Stud 25(3):297–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Brown RK, Brown RE (2003) Faith and works: church-based social capital resources and African American social activism. Soc Forces 82(2):617–641

  34. Taylor R, Chatters L (1988) Church members as a source of informal social support. Rev Relig Res 30(2):193–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Manne S, Kashy DA, Siegel S, Myers Virtue S, Heckman C, Ryan D (2014) Unsupportive partner behaviors, social-cognitive processing, and psychological outcomes in couples coping with early stage breast cancer. J Fam Psychol 28(2):214–224

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Yoo GJ, Sudhakar A, Le MN, Levine EG (2017) Exploring coping strategies among young Asian American women breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Educ 32(1):43–50

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Lagman RA, Yoo GJ, Levine EG, Donnell KA, Lim HR (2014) “Leaving it to God” religion and spirituality among Filipina immigrant breast cancer survivors. J Relig Health 53(2):449–460

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Levine EG, Yoo G, Aviv C, Ewing C, Au A (2007) Ethnicity and spirituality in breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv 1(3):212–225

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Public Health as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885; the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract N01-PC-35136 awarded to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, contract N01-PC-35139 awarded to the University of Southern California, and contract N02-PC-15105 awarded to the Public Health Institute; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement #U55/CCR921930-02 awarded to the Public Health Institute. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and endorsement by the State of California, Department of Public Health the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or their Contractors and Subcontractors are not intended nor should be inferred.

Funding

This research was supported by research infrastructure in minority institutions (RIMI) grant P20 MD000544-02 from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, to San Francisco State University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Africana Studies Department, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Ifetayo M. Flannery

  2. Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway, EP 103, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA

    Grace J. Yoo

  3. Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Ellen G. Levine

Authors
  1. Ifetayo M. Flannery
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Grace J. Yoo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ellen G. Levine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grace J. Yoo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

None.

The authors have full control of all primary data and allow the journal to review if necessary.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Flannery, I.M., Yoo, G.J. & Levine, E.G. Keeping us all whole: Acknowledging the agency of African American breast cancer survivors and their systems of social support. Support Care Cancer 27, 2625–2632 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4538-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4538-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation