309
Views
18
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Cancer Prevention and Screening Behaviors in Lesbians

, , &
Pages 15-39 | Published online: 17 Oct 2008
 

SUMMARY

The incidence of cancer diagnosis has increased in the United States highlighting the need for astute cancer prevention and screening behaviors. Previous literature has suggested that lesbians may not follow the American Cancer Society's (ACS) guidelines regarding prevention and screening for cancer due to disparity in access to care and increased use of alcohol and tobacco. The purpose of this study was to examine the cancer prevention and screening behaviors of lesbians using the ACS guidelines as the standards for comparison, and to determine factors that influence mammography screening.

A 102-item self-report survey was distributed to lesbians nationwide using various methods including snowballing sampling techniques. The sample included 1139 self-identified lesbians from 44 states.

In general, healthy lifestyle behaviors were followed. The majority of the women did not smoke, ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, ate protein sources low in fat and consumed alcohol at a moderate rate. However, safe sex practices were often not used by participants. Most women did have mammograms and Papanicolaou smears (PAP) as recommended; however, adherence to self-breast examination guidelines was not followed. Women who were older, had higher yearly incomes, did not smoke, performed regular self breast exams and had regular physical exams were most likely to have a mammogram.

Over half of the women met American Cancer Society guidelines for prevention and screening for breast and cervical cancer. However, strategies are needed to increase compliance with these guidelines in order to improve cancer health outcomes.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.