“They Paid No Mind to My State of Mind”: African American Breast Cancer Patients’ Experiences of Cancer Care Delivery

Abstract

This qualitative study describes experiences of cancer care delivery for nine African-American breast cancer patients. Three focus groups captured participants’ experiences with the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and parenting their children. Spontaneous accounts describing their interactions with oncology staff were reported by all breast cancer patients. Content analysis revealed five themes: interaction with physicians, power and authority of physicians, collaboration between physicians and mental health professionals, navigating the system, and involvement of the family in the treatment process. These themes may help in developing culturally sensitive training programs for oncology providers to improve the quality of cancer care.

KEYWORDS:

• African American
• breast cancer
• oncology  providers
• communication

This research was generously funded by the Human Impact Research Grant (GRID), Drexel University. We would like to thank all of the families who took part in this study at such a tough time in their lives. Also, we thank the oncologists and medical staff who contributed to the study. We are also grateful for the support and assistance of Marlene Watson, PhD, LMFT, Tracey Duncan, EdS, Angelle Richardson, MA, EdS, and Stephanie Jacobs, MS, EdS.