Latinas Unhappy with Breast Cancer Decisions

Dr. Sarah Hawley of the University of Michigan recently reported that Latina breast cancer patients are more likely than black or white breast cancer patients to be unhappy with the decision-making process in choosing whether to have a mastectomy or lumpectomy. Latinas who primarily speak Spanish in daily life were much more dissatisfied than those who were more comfortable with speaking English. Satisfaction with the process of making decisions is linked with quality of life later on.

Dr. Hawley and colleagues looked at a group of 877 women; 24.5% Spanish-speaking Latinas, 20.5% English-speaking Latinas, 24% African-American, and 26.6% Caucasian. They found stark differences in satisfaction among the groups, with Spanish-speaking Latinas 5.5 times more likely to be dissatisfied with the decision-making process than Caucasian women, and 4.1 times more likely to regret their decision. Spanish-speaking Latinas also had a lower overall health literacy than the women in the other groups. However, that lower health literacy accounted fro only a small part of their greater dissatisfaction with decision-making.

Hawley concluded that their findings "suggest that additional effort may be needed by clinicians to ensure that information is understandable and culturally appropriate...."

Decisions about our cancer care are difficult, especially for breast cancer patients chosing between mastectomy and lumpectomy. This shows, once again, that more needs to be done to make sure that all people get adequate, appropriate information and care.

A good resource for Latinos and Latinas is Redes en Accion: National Latino Cancer Research Network (www.redesenaccion.org). They work with the National Institutes of Health to promote research and support for Latinos. Included on their website is a Latino Cancer Experts Directory.

Julie