Choices of Breast Cancer Therapies in Four Ethnic Groups.
Abstract
Alternative complementary therapies have become popular among cancer patients. Although about one quarter of breast cancer patients in the United States use alternative therapies, ethnic differences in prevalence of use and the distribution by type have not been examined. Our goal was to determine the types of conventional and unconventional therapies used by women with breast cancer diagnosed between 1990 and 1992 in San Francisco Bay area among Hispanics, Whites, Blacks and Chinese-Americans and to assess factors influencing their choices of therapies. The ultimate goal is to improve breast cancer outcomes. A total of 377 subjects completed a 30 minute telephone interview with a very high participation among Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. Each ethnic group had their own preferred therapies: Blacks used spiritual healing most often (43%); Chinese women used diet and herbal remedies (3O%), Whites used diet (30%) and psychological methods (40%), while Hispanics preferred Tomaxifen therapy (43%). All in all, two thirds (64%) of our subjects used at least one type of alternative treatment and about half of them used two types after breast cancer diagnosis. Women did not use alternative therapies for very long, mostly less than 6 months. Factors influencing the choices of alternative therapies vary tremendously for different types of therapies and among the ethnic groups. Age, education, insurance status, having a mother with breast cancer, support group attendance or counseling, and late stage at diagnosis were associated with choices of alternative therapies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA321397
Entities
People
- Margaret R. Wrensch
- Marion M. Lee
Organizations
- University of California, San Francisco