Table 4.

Symptom appraisal in the context of other medical co-morbidities

If he [the oncologist] told me “Well it [acupuncture] will help with your hot flashes…” I mean my hot flashes aren’t gonna kill me. You know what I mean…I’m not gonna subject myself to acupuncture because it will help with my hot flashes. If he told me that it was a guarantee that I would never again have cancer, then sign me up, you know. I would be the first one out the door.

Subject G: 38yrs, Caucasian, College education

The only thing that I really have a problem with is I have back problems and that’s about the only thing I would wanna, you know, use it [acupuncture] for if I was gonna use it for anything.

Subject K: 69yrs, African American, College education

I would like there to be a study on migraines and acupuncture. That is my main problem right now.

Subject N: 49yrs, Caucasian, College education

I would still be going for acupuncture for hot flashes except I don’t have the time and they’re not so intense that I want to take the time off from work to do it.

Subject J: 53yrs, Caucasian, Graduate/Professional education

So if the hot flashes are bad but they don’t completely stop my life and they don’t completely keep me in bed and all that, I might just wing it and not participate in anything.

Subject C: 62yrs, Caucasian, College education

I’m at my life end almost, you know what I’m saying? So I really don’t need something like this [acupuncture] that would help the younger girls, women that are married and have husbands and things and going through all of these things. If that acupuncture help ‘em, help ‘em. See with me right now, I don’t… It’s not gonna help me. It may help me but it wouldn’t be that I have to keep up with my husband or my children. My children are almost as old as I am and my husband’s gone so I mean I don’t have anybody to really have to worry about.

Subject H: 79yrs, African American, High School education