African American Women Coping with Breast Cancer

This research examines the coping strategies and resources of African American womenwith breast cancer and how they relate to the relatively low rates of utilization of cancer supportgroups by this segment of the population. Cancer support groups have proven to be an effectivecoping intervention. They have been linked with improved psychosocial functioning andreductions in self-reported physical pain (Fawzy, Kemeny, et al., 1990; Goodwin et al., 2001;Spiegel, Bloom, & Yalom, 1981) as well as with increased survival time for participants (Fawzyet al., 1993; Richardson, Shelton, Krailo, & Levine, 1990; Spiegel, Bloom, Kraemer, & Gottheil,1989).Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women of all races andethnicities in the United States. Currently, a woman in this country has a one in seven chance ofdeveloping invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. Approximately 211,240 new cases of invasivebreast cancer are expected to occur nationally in 2005 (American Cancer Society, 2005). Anadditional 58,490 cases of in situ breast cancer (cancer confined to the duct) are also expected tobe diagnosed. The incidence rates of this disease have continued to increase since 1980 asimprovements in screening technologies have made possible the detection of breast cancers oftentoo small to be felt.