Carolyn Gotay, Ph.D.

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Cancer Research Center of Hawaii

Carolyn Cook Gotay, Ph.D.
Professor (Researcher), Prevention and Control Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii;
Graduate Faculty, Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa
M.A. (Psychology), University of Maryland
Ph.D. (Social Psychology), University of Maryland
Carolyn@crch.hawaii.edu

Publication list via PubMed
Overall research focus: understanding the interaction between culture and cancer-related outcomes and developing interventions to promote patient and family well-being. Ongoing research activities fall into three main areas:
Studies of cancer survivorship. Current NIH-supported projects investigate quality in various special cancer survivor populations: (a) Asians and Pacific Islanders; (b) Individuals who survive poor prognosis cancers; (c) Individuals experiencing more than one primary cancer; (d) Long-term prostate cancer survivors; and (e) Family members of long-term survivors. These studies all utilize the Hawaii Tumor Registry, a population-based cancer registry, for case-finding. Data are collected through mailed questionnaires and personal interviews and use standardized questionnaires as well as questions focusing on specific concerns in these populations.
Research on interventions to improve cancer patient quality of life. A current Department of Defense-supported project tests the efficacy of a supportive intervention for improving well-being in women experiencing a first recurrence of breast cancer. The telephone-delivered intervention uses breast cancer survivors to provide the support. This project is directed by Dr. Gotay and is a collaboration between the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, a national clinical trials group (Southwest Oncology Group) and a lay advocacy organization (Y-ME).
Research to reduce cancer mortality and morbidity in at-risk groups. Projects include studies of informed consent in clinical trials, patterns of care in breast cancer, complementary and alternative medicine, and culturally-tailored activities to promote cancer screening and treatment. Efforts are directed at understanding more about the differential outcomes experienced by cancer patients in different ethnic groups, so that culturally-appropriate interventions can be developed.

Selected Publications
Gotay. CC. (2000). Cancer, culture, and the family. Pp. 95-110 in L Baider, GL Cooper & A Kaplan De-Nour, A (Eds.), Cancer and the family. 2nd Edition. NY: Wiley.
Gotay, CC & Dumitriu, D. (2000). Health food store recommendations for breast cancer patients. Archives of Family Medicine 9, 696-8.
Gotay, CC, Banner, RO, Matsunaga, DS, Hedlund, N, Enos, R, Issell, BF, DeCambra, H. (2000). The impact of a culturally-appropriate intervention to increase breast and cervical screening in Native Hawaiian women. Preventive Medicine.31, 529-37.
Gotay, CC, Moinpour, CM, Moody-Thomas, S, Gritz, ER, Albain, KS, DeAntoni, E, Hansen, L, Ganz, PA. (2000). Behavioral science research in the cooperative group setting: the Southwest Oncology Group experience. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 92, 1381-7.
Gotay, CC, Holup, JL, Muraoka, MY. (2001, in press). The challenges of prostate cancer: A major men's health issue. Journal of Men's Studies.

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