Introduction: The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC), the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and an independent joined together to conduct a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) study, funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, to understand the lived experience of women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods: A qualitative study was performed using a phenomenology methodology. Study participants included women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2000 to 2005 from the GRIC. The goals of the study were to describe the lived experience of GRIC women diagnosed with breast cancer, to describe the women's decision making processes related to breast cancer treatment, and to mentor community members in the CBPR process. A collaborative partnership between researchers and community members was formed to complete the study.

Results: The first year of the grant entailed the development of a strong collaboration between community and research team members, including forming a community advisory group. This presentation will present lessons learned from the CBPR process from the perspectives of the team members including community members and researchers with a focus on the second year of the grant which included participant recruitment and data analysis. Differences in perspectives on the research process by team members (community advisory group, community based clinicians, and the non-community researchers) will be presented.

Conclusions: Perspectives of team members in a CBPR research setting may vary significantly depending on their contextual background and/or focus (community vs. research/ institution). Development of an effective collaboration based on mutual respect and inclusivity required significant investment of time and creativity to carry out this community based study. Discussion of grant activities and team member perspectives will be presented.

Second AACR International Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities— Feb 3–6, 2009; Carefree, AZ