Family: The Bedrock of Support for American Indian Women Cancer Survivors.

Cancer disparities among American Indian (AI) women are alarming, yet a dearth of research focuses on the role of family support for such women. The purpose of this research was to examine the composition of AI women cancer survivors' family support networks and the types of support that they provided. We used a qualitative descriptive methodology with 43 AI women cancer survivors and qualitative content analysis, which indicated that 38 participants (approximately 90%) reported that their families provided integral and varied forms of support, especially instrumental support throughout cancer experiences. Families were the bedrock of support for AI women cancer survivors.