Table 1.

Focus group themes: examples of patients’ responses by gender and screening status

	CRC ever screened				CRC never screened
	Male		Female		Male		Female
Importance of physician’s   role	1.	…when the doctor told me to get it, I decided to go take it.	1.	So if I routinely go to my doctor and he suggests that I do this and tells me it is time to do this, then I go step by step by what he says…	1.	That is how I found out by going to the doctor and finding you know for one thing about me. He could tell me listen check out this. That is how I found out.	1.	It has to do with how your doctor discusses things with you.
	2.	Doctors telling me you need to do this, you need to do that. I don’t have a problem doing anything.	2.	Anything he says because I trust him if he tells me it’s time for this because you are this age…you need to do this. I am going to listen to him.	2.	I’m not much on going to the doctor you know. If I don’t need it and it’s not an emergency I don’t go see the doctor.	2.	I want to be comfortable with you and if I’m not comfortable with you, find me somebody else who is going to take the time with me because people get scared often.
Gender-specific perceptions	1.	Some men think, “they aren’t putting anything up there, they aren’t going up into my rectum like that”	1.	I think the women would be more concerned about getting it … we have much more things going on in our bodies than men.	1.	They stick some type of camera up in you and they said that it is fairly long. I have been putting it off. I am not prone to having that. I also heard they do a finger test which is a second intrusion… It is an uncomfortable feeling for me.	1.	I think once there is something wrong with us and we have that discussion from our doctors, we will be faster to do it than they will.
	2.	…you know, guys are usually reluctant to have colonoscopies because I guess it a male ego thing you know, having something inserted into your rectum.	2.	I think with men there is a masculinity problem that they because it is a certain area they feel that it is like invading them or they are being raped or something.	2.	It is not so much the worry. It is the intrusion part…It is just in my make up. It is an intrusion to keep having to go in a man’s rectum.	2.	Men, they are holding out to the bitter end because of the procedure. They take some type of dignity from you or it is embarrassing to them.
Peace of mind	1.	There is no question about it you know. It is a life saving procedure and you just have to put it in your mind that this is not what you want to do but this is what you should do.	1.	I think it is a security of knowing what is happening with you is the best I could get out of it. I knew once I had that test and the results. That was the end of it. There were no if, ands, or buts or questions about what was happening.	1.	You know, I don’t want to take that risk and find out later that I had a problem I could have taken care of a long time ago.	1.	…I would just want to have the other test (colonoscopy) done. I would like to have the accuracy. I would like to know that there are no polyps there.
	2.	Now you don’t have to worry about it. …Do what you got to do, I know I am going to get over it because I been through it. I know I am going to get over it. What ever it is going to take.	2.	Personally I think that if you are going to take the time to make sure your body is okay, why not go for the sure shot. Why waste your time doing A and B when you are going to go to C anyway. I just don’t think it is necessary.	2.	The primary choice, I would want to get 100 percent shot that you examined me thoroughly. I’m clear.	2.	Both my aunts and my mother (had colonoscopy). They just looked like they were sleeping peacefully when I got there to pick them up…There was no side effects, no anything…They were glad they had it done.
Lack of information/   understanding as barrier to   CRC screening	1.	It just is not talked about. It has to be talked about. It has got to be out there. It has to be publicized to take away some of the fears of the examination…	1.	A lot of people don’t have the test because they don’t know how serious it is.	1.	Not, it is just the point that they do not have the education about it. They don’t even know they could have it… That is why they never probably never checked it out because they don’t know.	1.	That will make them feel “I am not going to get that” because they don’t know how it is going to be.
	2.	I don’t think that it is being presented as fully as it should be in our neighborhood, our community.	2.	Well at one time they wouldn’t tell you nothing but now since more things are in the open some give you a little bit and some still won’t tell you anything.	2.	A lot of people don’t know anything about it. It is just coming out now.	2.	…colon cancer to me, I never knew how they go about it, testing you for colon cancer, and I was wondering how they do that.
Dislike/mistrust of FOBT	1.	I prefer colonoscopy because it’s quicker, easier and the side effects are less and it is an outpatient job.	1.	I think I would prefer doing that the night before than going three days trying to make sure I didn’t have a banana which I love… So I would probably get a false positive because I probably wouldn’t do it right.	1.	Me personally, I wouldn’t rely on it (FOBT) to be a 100 percent sure shot that I am cancer free, the stool testing.	1.	Gross… It takes too much work. You have to be real consistent, responsible. You have to have a whole lot of things to follow that kind of schedule.
	2.	I figure…99.9% of the time they can catch any kind of growth that could appear there. So I am pretty confident about the colonoscopy.	2.	I think it (FOBT) is a waste of time. …It is not something that is secure.	2.	I still have all of these questions, all of these unanswered questions…I didn’t know they did stool testing for colon cancer.	2.	You might really have a problem there and you are delaying the situation when maybe something could be taken care of.