You Do What You Got To Do: African-American Women's Perspectives of Managing Breast Cancer.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to build a grounded theory of the process of diagnosis, treatment, and coping in African-American women diagnosed with stage 1-3 breast cancer, and identifying factors that may lead to resiliency in these women. Factors promoting resiliency identified by the participants included having a voice, self-attunement, spirituality, pragmatism, and keeping positive. Based on the findings, the researchers suggest health care providers work to create patient-centered healthcare,facilities for cancer treatment, validate patient self-agency, encourage communion, and hire staff that have been previously diagnosed with breast cancer to act as mentors.