Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Purpose: First Nation peoples with cancer have higher distress, higher burdens of disease, and higher mortality rates than the rest of Canadians. The National Picture project has explored the survivorship experiences of First Nation women with cancer and their caregivers. Methods: An arts-based, participatory study (interviews, photography, journaling, sharing sessions) was conducted with 43 participants (cancer survivors and their caregivers) from four First Nation communities in Canada. Results: Two major themes have come out of initial analyses: 1) Suffering without support leads to cycles of silence: several social, historical and institutional barriers inhibit speaking about cancer and finding/providing support. 2) Helping and being helped without having to ask: communities exercised resilience to these challenges through the voluntary and unsolicited provision of support by community members. Conclusions: First Nation communities experienced inequitable access to formal, supportive programs and services, in part because of a lack of understanding of culturally relevant needs and colonial structures within healthcare systems. First Nation women with cancer desire the emotional, social, and financial supports established within their informal networks; however, they also require institutional provision of care that address culturally relevant needs, colonial impacts on cancer communication, and the disproportionate burdens of disease on First Nation families.