African American Women Breast Cancer Survivors: Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic

African American women breast cancer survivors are among those with the greater burden of cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among black women, and this death rate is 40% higher than that of white women. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the burden of morbidity and mortality am...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cancer education 2023-10, Vol.38 (5), p.1539-1547
Main Authors: Hamilton, Jill B., Abiri, Autherine N., Nicolas, Charlyne A., Gyan, Kayoll, Chandler, Rasheeta D., Worthy, Valarie C., Grant, Ernest J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
African Americans
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Black or African American
Breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms
Cancer
Cancer Research
Cancer Survivors
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Death
Female
Females
Humans
Pandemics
Pharmacology/Toxicology
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Summary:African American women breast cancer survivors are among those with the greater burden of cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among black women, and this death rate is 40% higher than that of white women. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the burden of morbidity and mortality among this population of cancer survivors. In this report, we explore the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic was a source of stress for African American women breast cancer survivors and their subsequent responses to these stressors. This is a qualitative descriptive study with content analysis of data from the narratives of 18 African American breast cancer survivors. Participants were interviewed via phone and video conferencing platform and asked questions related to their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest stressors associated with (1) potential COVID-19 spreaders in their immediate environments; (2) closures and restricted access to social- and faith-based activities; (3) televised news broadcasts of COVID-19; and (4) disruptions to planned cancer prevention and control healthcare. Three categories emerged that captured the ways in which these women responded to stressors during the early phase of this pandemic: (1) seeking control in their social environments; (2) following the rules; and (3) seeking support from God, family, and friends. These findings can be used to better support breast cancer patients during the early phases of a pandemic.
ISSN:0885-8195
1543-0154
1543-0154
DOI:10.1007/s13187-023-02296-7