title: The Meaning of Survivorship as Defined by African American Breast Cancer Survivors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While there is an abundance of cancer survivorship research among various racial/ethnic groups, there is a paucity of research on survivors of African descent. To date, the meaning of survivorship has not been reported exclusively among African American breast cancer survivors (AABCS).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose was to describe and understand the meaning of survivorship among community-dwelling AABCS, mostly recruited from breast cancer support groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a qualitative descriptive approach, an open-ended questionnaire explored the meaning of survivorship among 155 AABCS. An analysis of the content was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among AABCS, survivorship meant having a strong spiritual base, thriving, being resilient, and being altruistic. The survivors self-identified with and embraced the termsurvivor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide an important understanding of the perspectives and meaning of survivorship among AABCS and may assist in developing cancer survivorship care plans that are relevant, responsive, patient centered, and culturally appropriate.
authors.affiliation: California State University San Bernardino, CA, USA cmdavis@csusb.edu.
authors.forename: Claudia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Hector F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Adeline M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nyamathi
authors.affiliation: University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: MaryAnn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Mary-Lynn
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brecht
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: African American women; altruism; breast cancer survivors; identity; resilience; spirituality; survivorship; thriving