TY - JOUR
T1 - Advancing breast cancer survivorship among African-American women
AU - Coughlin, Steven S.
AU - Yoo, Wonsuk
AU - Whitehead, Mary S.
AU - Smith, Selina A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is funded by the National Cancer Institute (1R01CA166785-01).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2015/9/7
Y1 - 2015/9/7
N2 - Advances have occurred in breast cancer survivorship but, for many African-American women, challenges and gaps in relevant information remain. This article identifies opportunities to address disparities in breast cancer survival and quality of life, and thereby to increase breast cancer survivorship among African-American women. For breast cancer survivors, common side effects, lasting for long periods after cancer treatment, include fatigue, loss of strength, difficulty sleeping, and sexual dysfunction. For addressing physical and mental health concerns, a variety of interventions have been evaluated, including exercise and weight training, dietary interventions, yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction, and support groups or group therapy. Obesity has been associated with breast cancer recurrence and poorer survival. Relative to white survivors, African-American breast cancer survivors are more likely to be obese and less likely to engage in physical activity, although exercise improves overall quality of life and cancer-related fatigue. Considerable information exists about the effectiveness of such interventions for alleviating distress and improving quality of life among breast cancer survivors, but few studies have focused specifically on African-American women with a breast cancer diagnosis. Studies have identified a number of personal factors that are associated with resilience, increased quality of life, and positive adaptation to a breast cancer diagnosis. There is a need for a better understanding of breast cancer survivorship among African-American women. Additional evaluations of interventions for improving the quality of life and survival of African-American breast cancer survivors are desirable.
AB - Advances have occurred in breast cancer survivorship but, for many African-American women, challenges and gaps in relevant information remain. This article identifies opportunities to address disparities in breast cancer survival and quality of life, and thereby to increase breast cancer survivorship among African-American women. For breast cancer survivors, common side effects, lasting for long periods after cancer treatment, include fatigue, loss of strength, difficulty sleeping, and sexual dysfunction. For addressing physical and mental health concerns, a variety of interventions have been evaluated, including exercise and weight training, dietary interventions, yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction, and support groups or group therapy. Obesity has been associated with breast cancer recurrence and poorer survival. Relative to white survivors, African-American breast cancer survivors are more likely to be obese and less likely to engage in physical activity, although exercise improves overall quality of life and cancer-related fatigue. Considerable information exists about the effectiveness of such interventions for alleviating distress and improving quality of life among breast cancer survivors, but few studies have focused specifically on African-American women with a breast cancer diagnosis. Studies have identified a number of personal factors that are associated with resilience, increased quality of life, and positive adaptation to a breast cancer diagnosis. There is a need for a better understanding of breast cancer survivorship among African-American women. Additional evaluations of interventions for improving the quality of life and survival of African-American breast cancer survivors are desirable.
KW - African Americans
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Cancer survivorship
KW - Health status disparities
KW - Quality of life
KW - Survival
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U2 - 10.1007/s10549-015-3548-3
DO - 10.1007/s10549-015-3548-3
M3 - Review article
C2 - 26303657
AN - SCOPUS:84940956453
SN - 0167-6806
VL - 153
SP - 253
EP - 261
JO - Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
JF - Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
IS - 2
ER -