This article provides an overview of the current literature on seven cancer sites that may disproportionately affect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) populations. For each cancer site we present and discuss the descriptive statistics, primary prevention, secondary prevention and preclinical disease, tertiary prevention and late stage disease, and clinical implications. Finally, an overview of psychosocial factors related to cancer survivorship is offered as well as strategies for improving access to care.

Little is known about cancer information needs and seeking patterns in the rapidly growing Asian American population. The purpose of this study is to characterize cancer information seeking behaviors and preferences in Asian Americans and to examine their cancer-related knowledge and risk perceptions. Data from the nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) database were analyzed to compare non-Hispanic Asians and Whites. Asians had lower awareness of the National Institutes of Health and American Cancer Society, were less likely to think that not smoking or quitting smoking would reduce cancer risk, were less knowledgeable about colon cancer screening, and considered their personal cancer risk to be low. Asians and Whites had similar media usage rates. They also had similar rates of preference for cancer information from various sources, although Asians were significantly more likely to prefer print materials. The level of trust of cancer information from doctors was high overall. This study is limited by under-representation of some demographic subpopulations, future surveys should oversample Asians and strive to include higher-risk Asians (e.g., elderly, poorly educated, immigrants, and those with limited English proficiency).

BACKGROUND: As patients grow older, accurate communication with health care providers about cancer becomes increasingly important. However, little is known about the cancer communication experiences of older Asian immigrants. OBJECTIVE:To learn about the cancer-related communication experiences of older Vietnamese immigrants from the insider perspective. DESIGN:Qualitative study (grounded theory, constant comparative method) using individual interviews with older Vietnamese immigrants with the purpose of discussing how they learn about cancer. Interviews were conducted in Vietnamese.PARTICIPANTS: Vietnamese immigrants aged 50-70 years, recruited through community-based organizations. Most had low education and limited English proficiency. The sample size of 20 was sufficient to achieve theoretical saturation. RESULTS:We identified 3 categories of themes concerning informants' experiences with cancer communication in the health care setting: (1) attitudes about addressing screening with providers, (2) issues/ problems communicating with physicians about cancer, and (3) language/translation difficulties. There was substantial overlap between informants who mentioned each theme category, and 40% of the participants mentioned all 3 categories.CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of and act upon specific cancer communication needs/challenges of their older immigrant patients. Moreover, health care systems need to be prepared to address the needs of an increasingly multiethnic and linguistically diverse patient population. Finally, community-level interventions should address baseline knowledge deficits while encouraging immigrant patients to engage their doctors in discussions about cancer screening.