Contextualizing African American and Latina Women's Postmastectomy Social Support Experiences: Support Groups and Beyond

Abstract

Beyond offering social support, cancer support groups can redefine notions of survivorship among group members. This qualitative, interview-based study explored these processes among Latina (n = 20) and African American (n = 27) participants who underwent mastectomy for breast cancer. Although we initially focused on support group use, we found that experiences in groups were interdependent with participants’ greater social contexts. These contexts of social support defied distinctions between formal and informal social support. Sharing stories and embodied experiences established connections within and outside of support groups, often transforming random encounters into serendipitous opportunities for social support and exchange.

KEYWORDS:

• breast cancer
• support groups
• ethnic/racial minorities
• social support

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We gratefully acknowledge Bennett Allen for his contributions to data analysis and Jessica Joseph for her thoughtful feedback.

Notes

Here, we follow Shotwell's (2009) use of the prefix “trans” to name movements of transsexual and transgender identified individuals. See original chapter (pp. 61–62) for in-depth discussion of her use of the prefix to encompass both groups.