Improving cross-cultural awareness and skills to reduce health disparities in cancer.

Delivering culturally sensitive care gives health professionals an opportunity to help reduce racial and ethnic disparities attributable to patient-provider interactions in the diverse settings across the continuum of care. Dealing with a cancer diagnosis is stressful; dealing with that diagnosis in a setting that is culturally unfamiliar or with a provider who speaks a different language can make the experience frightening. The nurse must be attuned to the cultural needs of the cancer patient and family members/significant others.