Disparities in Obesity, Physical Activity Rates, and Breast Cancer Survival.

The significantly higher breast cancer (BCa) mortality rates of African-American (AA) women compared to non-Hispanic (NHW) white women constitute a major US health disparity. Investigations have primarily focused on biological differences in tumors to explain more aggressive forms of BCa in AA women. The biology of tumors cannot be modified, yet lifestyle changes can mitigate their progression and recurrence. AA communities have higher percentages of obesity than NHWs and exhibit inefficient access to care, low socioeconomic status, and reduced education levels. Such factors are associated with limited healthy food options and sedentary activity. AA women have the highest prevalence of obesity than any other racial/ethnic/gender group in the United States. The social ecological model (SEM) is a conceptual framework on which interventions could be developed to reduce obesity. The SEM includes intrapersonal factors, interpersonal factors, organizational relationships, and community/institutional policies that are more effective in behavior modification than isolation from the participants' environmental context. Implementation of SEM-based interventions in AA communities could positively modify lifestyle behaviors, which could also serve as a powerful tool in reducing risk of BCa, BCa progression, and BCa recurrence in populations of AA women.

The use of complementary therapies by cancer patients.

Since the beginning of time, persons with acute or chronic diseases have sought added control over their fates in the form of whatever therapies offered hope. Although conventional treatments for cancer have been proven to lower mortality rates significantly, patients continue to look for more ways to combat their illnesses. Little in the literature supports the actual frequency of use of such therapies, nor do we have published data to support the general assumption that their popularity is growing. This group of researchers reanalyzed data from the Cancer Survivorship Questionnaire of the 1992 National Health Interview Survey to compare the use of self-healing and psychosocial techniques before and after 1987. Using Martha Roger's conceptual framework of the Science of Unitary Human Beings, these therapies were viewed as unitary field practice modalities. Results of the secondary analysis of data from 2970 patients revealed that use of additional therapies increased by 63.9% after 1987.