This paper compares disability perceptions of Black with white older cancer survivors’ to document racial disparities in these perceptions and the factors that contribute to them. The data are from a randomly selected tumor registry sample of 321 older adult cancer survivors from an NCI funded study. OLS regression models of disability perceptions, nested by race, examined the effects cancer and non-cancer health factors along with important covariates. Black older adult cancer survivors perceived themselves to be more disabled than did white survivors. Multivariate analyses showed a strong relationship between functional difficulties and disability perceptions for both Black and white survivors. However cancer-related factors such as continuing symptoms of the illness or treatment were relatively more important for Blacks. The findings suggest that race and cancer are both important factors in our understanding of disability in later life. These findings can then inform clinical best practices among minority older adults.

本文比较了黑人和白人老年癌症幸存者对残疾的看法，以记录这些看法中的种族差异以及导致这些看法的因素。数据来自 NCI 资助的研究中随机选择的 321 名老年癌症幸存者的肿瘤登记样本。按种族嵌套的残疾认知 OLS 回归模型检查了癌症和非癌症健康因素以及重要协变量的影响。黑人老年癌症幸存者认为自己比白人幸存者更残疾。多变量分析表明，黑人和白人幸存者的功能障碍与残疾认知之间存在密切关系。然而，与癌症相关的因素，例如疾病或治疗的持续症状，对黑人来说相对更重要。研究结果表明，种族和癌症都是我们理解晚年残疾的重要因素。然后，这些发现可以为少数族裔老年人的临床最佳实践提供信息。