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Treatment Decision Making In African American Women Diagnosed With Advanced Breast Cancer, Dauphne Annette Sims

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

TREATMENT DECISION MAKING IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN DIAGNOSED WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER

by

Dauphne Annette Sims

When diagnosed with breast cancer African American women have more advanced stage breast disease and encounter disparities throughout the cancer care continuum. The process of making treatment decisions can widen or narrow disparities in health outcomes. The decision making process in African American women may be influenced by several dynamics that influence how treatment decisions are made and have been previously unexplained. Guided by the conceptual framework of Cultural Capital, this grounded theory study explored the treatment decision making process of 12 African …

The Cytotoxic Effect Of The Bcl-2 Family Of Proteins In Breast Cancer Cells, Yamileth Chin

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death amongst women ages 20 to 59. Despite advancements in cancer therapies, more research is necessary to improve the diagnoses and treatment of several types of breast cancer. Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a commonly utilized anti-cancer drug for various types of solid tumors. However, the molecular mechanism utilized by paclitaxel to induce cell death is still elusive. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein, BAK (BCL-2 homologous antagonist/killer) plays an important role in paclitaxel-induced cell death. In untreated breast cancer cells, BAK is associated with the anti-apoptotic …