Receiving a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis is challenging for anyone, but when English isn’t your primary language, it’s that much more difficult to understand your treatment options and communicate with your medical team.
To address this need, Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) has translated its Metastatic Breast Cancer Series: Guide for the Newly Diagnosed into the five most-often-spoken languages in the United States after English: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog and French.
Ada Osoy, from South Pasadena, CA, did not have access to this kind of guide when was she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. “I love this guide,” Osoy said. “It is very informative. It’s very detailed, and all the information is right on the mark. I like that there’s advice on what to do at appointment visits. A lot of times, because of the language barrier, the patient feels intimidated and so she puts all the trust in the doctors and doesn’t feel comfortable asking questions. This guide will help educate that the patient does have control over his/her treatment,” she said.
Jointly created by Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) and the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, Metastatic Breast Cancer Series: Guide for the Newly Diagnosed explains stage IV breast cancer, describes current and experimental treatment options and their side effects, discusses the role of clinical trials, and offers complementary therapies to relieve stress and anxiety.
“Translating this guide into Spanish is greatly important for Latinas, who often have a hard time finding linguistically and culturally relevant educational resources,” said oncology nurse Evelyn Robles Rodriguez, RN, MSN, APN, AOCN, Director, Outreach, Prevention and Survivorship at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper in Camden, NJ. “Now, Latinas with metastatic breast cancer have an opportunity to educate themselves about this disease without needing translation from family members or friends. This means that they can learn at their own pace, in their own time and in a…
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