Abstract

African American patients have been reported as having a greater number of aggressive cancer treatments compared to Caucasians (McWayne & Heiney, 2005; Meeske et al., 2009; Ridner & Dietrich, 2008), and have higher incidence of BCRLE due axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and radiation intervention (Thomas-MacLean, Miedema, Tateemichi, 2005). Research regarding BCRLE has used BCRLE samples comprised almost exclusively of married and well-educated Caucasian women. Few studies (Bowman, Deimling, Smerglia, Sage, & Kahana, 2003; Eversley et al., 2005; Joslyn, 2002; McWayne & Heiney, 2005) have included sizeable numbers of African American breast cancer survivors. No studies have been found that explicitly investigate the phenomenon of the lived experience of African American women who have acquired BCRLE and those that do include African American women in the sample; have not focused on any potential differences by race. The purpose of this descriptive, phenomenological qualitative study was to explore African American women's experiences in living with breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRLE) including physical changes, functionality and perception of body image, family and social roles, coping techniques, and patient-healthcare provider relations.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3558118; ProQuest document ID: 1348670113. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Deborah A. Collins-Bohler, PhD, RN, CG

Sigma Membership

Eta Rho

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Phenomenology

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

African-American Women, Breast Cancer, Lymphedema, Educational Preparedness, Positive Adaptation

Advisor

April H. Vallerand

Second Advisor

Stephanie Schim

Third Advisor

Ramona Benkert

Fourth Advisor

Mary Ann Kosir

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

Wayne State University

Degree Year

2013

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2022-02-09

Full Text of Presentation

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