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Breast cancer survivorship: the role of perceived discrimination and sexual orientation

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Abstract

Breast cancer disproportionately affects sexual minority women (SMW) compared to heterosexual women and a small but growing literature indicates that SMW may have diminished survivorship outcomes; outcomes that are measurably and importantly different from heterosexual breast cancer survivors. However, it remains unknown how sexual orientation influences breast cancer survivorship outcomes such as quality of life. One possible route of influence is SMW’s perceived discrimination in the health care setting. This cross-sectional study examines SMW perceptions of discrimination as one of the multiple facets of the breast cancer survivorship process. This study assessed SMW breast cancer survivor’s perceptions of discrimination during their breast cancer treatment experience and secondarily, examined the role of this perceived discrimination on SMW’s quality of life. Sixty-eight purposefully sampled sexual minority breast cancer survivors completed assessments of quality of life, perceived discrimination, perceived social support and perceived stress via an online survey. Statistical analyses point to perceived discrimination and perceived social support as important indicators for predicting SMW’s quality of life. Future research on SMW’s breast cancer survivorship should include measures of perceived discrimination.

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Acknowledgements

The project described was supported in part by The Center for Population Research in LGBT Health at The Fenway Institute and by the Eunice Kennedy Shrive National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under Award Number R21HD051178. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD or the National Institutes of Health. Manuscript preparation was supported by the American Cancer Society Grant #PFT-10-111-01-CPPB. We would also like to thank the many breast cancer survivors for their contributions and participation in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Crosstown Center, 4th floor, Rm 441D, 801 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Jennifer M. Jabson & Deborah Bowen

  2. Department of Public Health, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Rebecca J. Donatelle

Authors
  1. Jennifer M. Jabson
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  2. Rebecca J. Donatelle
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  3. Deborah Bowen
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Correspondence to Jennifer M. Jabson.

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Jabson, J.M., Donatelle, R.J. & Bowen, D. Breast cancer survivorship: the role of perceived discrimination and sexual orientation. J Cancer Surviv 5, 92–101 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-010-0161-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-010-0161-7

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