Health care inequities continue to plague African Americans. For African American cancer patients these inequities include access to health care, availability of treatment modalities, support groups, and participation in nursing cancer research. A support group setting is better for recruitment than a clinical setting. Referrals to the researcher from individuals who personally know the African American cancer patients generated the best response rates. If the researcher has no previous connection with the potential participant, interest in the study may be generated but recruitment is minimal or absent. Ethnically sensitive recruitment of African American cancer patients is therefore essential to improving participatory responses in cancer nursing research.