Making a Connection to Improve Latino Health
Posts tagged latina
Free Mother’s Day Gift for Latina Moms and Moms-to-Be: text4baby
06 days ago
by admin
in Healthy Lifestyles
Can’t decide what to get mom for Mother’s Day on May 13, 2012?
Have her sign up for Text4baby, a free bilingual mobile information service that provides pregnant women and new moms with info to help them care for their health and give their babies the best possible start in life.
First, text BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411.
Once enrolled, women get free weekly text messages timed to either her due date or baby’s date of birth. Messages were developed by government and non-profit health experts, such as the CDC, and cover nutrition, immunization, and birth defect prevention, among other topics.
Text4baby, an educational program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), launched two years and has enrolled about 300,000 subscribers and sent more than 28 million text messages. The program has more than 700 outreach partners including MTV and the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy.
Learn more at www.text4baby.org. Follow the effort on Facebook and Twitter.
Event Wrap-Up: Cancer Prevention and Women
01 month ago
Researchers from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio taught a crowd of more than 30 health professionals and social workers the importance of providing bilingual and culturally sensitive health care at a unique training event March 8, 2012, in San Antonio.
The event, “Cancer Prevention & Women: A Look at Programs that Address Health Disparities Among Medically Underserved Populations,” stemmed from a partnership between the IHPR and the San Antonio College (SAC) Empowerment Center.
IHPR researchers Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos, Christina M. Carmona, Rose A. Treviño, Guadalupe Cornejo and Erika G. Casasola discussed Latino breast, cervical and colorectal cancer rates and cultural factors that impede individuals from preventative care.
They also discussed several of the IHPR’s community-based programs: Entre Madre e Hija, a cervical cancer peer-education program for Latina mothers and daughters; Salud San Antonio!, a program providing free educational presentations on prevention and early detection of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer; and Muévete Más, a community initiative that offers exercise programs for Latina cancer survivors.
Learn more abut the IHPR here.
News: Latino Health Research, Stories & More
06 months ago
Find the latest in Latino health—from fighting Latina breast cancer to helping Latinos pursue doctoral degrees—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.
The E-newsletter has these stories:
- Story and Video: Giving Latinas a Chance vs. Breast Cancer (Pg 1)
- Story: How a Typewriter Helped a Latina Launch a Career in Health Promotion (Pg 2)
- Story and Video: Depression after Cancer Keeps Latinas from Follow-Up Care (Pg 3)
- Story: Apply by 3/1/12 for Éxito Program to Get Help Pursuing a Doctoral Degree (Pg 5)
- Story: San Antonio Schools Get Salad Bars (Pg 6)
- Story and Video: Latino Man Works to Interrupt Street Violence (Pg 8 )
The E-newsletter is jam-packed with even more info on the latest local and national health disparities-related news, resources and events.
Visit the IHPR here.
Study: Latinas Get More Unneeded Breast Cancer Surgery
06 months ago
Latinas and older, poorer women all are more likely to have lymph nodes under the armpit removed unnecessarily during breast cancer surgery, according to a new study, Reuters reports.
That’s despite 2005 guidelines recommending a gentler surgery that spares most of the lymph nodes, avoiding side effects like pain, swelling and numbness down the line.
Based on a California cancer registry, researchers found that more than a third of about 18,000 women who had undergone mastectomy for early-stage breast cancer had had their lymph nodes removed as well.
Yet all of these women had node-negative tumors, meaning the cancer had not spread beyond the breast.
Latinas and Breast Cancer: “Should I Worry?”
07 months ago
by admin
in Latino Cancer
Margaret Moran
Margaret Moran, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), explored the often-frightening term “breast cancer” among Hispanics in a recent Huffington Post article.
She notes that, even though Latinas have lower breast cancer rates, they are screened less and are diagnosed at later disease stages. Breast cancer is alos the most-diagnosed cancer among Latinas.
When I was a young girl, we didn’t talk about breast cancer. Now, we must not only talk about it, but be sure that all women have access to proper screenings and treatments. We need to ensure that Hispanic women have the knowledge and medical care to put an end to this disease. Breast cancer affects everyone, not just the person diagnosed. Likewise, everyone needs to do their part to minimize the risks within our community.
VIDEO: Latina TV Star Stands Up to Cancer
07 months ago
Latina TV star Ana Maria Polo, host of the popular Telemundo show Caso Cerrado, will appear in a new public service announcement (PSA) for Stand Up to Cancer, bringing her signature courtroom resolve to the fight against cancer.
Polo, a breast cancer survivor herself, joins a long list of national and international celebrity supporters of the Stand Up to Cancer initiative, which raises awareness and funds for collaborative cancer research.
Watch the video here or below:
New Komen Initiative Aims to Increase Latina Breast Cancer Screening
07 months ago
Did you know that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality among U.S. Latinas?
Alarmingly, Hispanic women are 20 percent more likely to die from breast cancer when compared to non-Hispanic white women when diagnosed at a similar age and stage.
In response, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is launching Lazos que Perduran, a national, culturally relevant, educational initiative that empowers Latinas with the knowledge and resources to take action. Targeting young adults, the Lazos initiative will promote our breast self awareness messages (know your risk, get screened, know what is normal for you and make healthy lifestyle choices) and motivate them to influence their loved ones to do the same.
Telenovela actress Angelica Maria, and her daughter, actress-singer Angelica Vale, are Lazos spokespersons.
Dr. Ramirez’ White House Blog: ‘Giving Latinas a Chance Against Breast Cancer’
07 months ago
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez
Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday, was recently named a “Champion of Change” by the White House for her contributions to ending suffering from breast cancer.
Now Dr. Ramirez has written a blog post for the White House.
The inspirational post, “Giving Latinas a Chance Against Breast Cancer,” highlights Latinas’ cancer issues and discusses ways to overcome barriers:
Prevention is the key, and timely screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care are critical if Latinas are to survive cancer and sustain a good quality of life.
That’s why my Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, in partnership with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center and agencies like Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, is doing research that engages the community to help them make better health choices and break down cancer barriers.
Read the full post here.
A Latina Cervical Cancer Survivor Story
17 months ago
Patti Murillo-Casa
SaludToday Guest Blogger: Patti Murillo-Casa
It was October 2008 when I was diagnosed with Stage IIB Cervical Cancer only three months after I had retired from the NYC Police Department and was ready to enjoy retirement with my husband.
I had not visited my GYN doctor for over three years. Why did I not go to the doctor sooner? Because of the many reasons that women use as an excuse: I was too busy, I had no time, I felt fine, I hate going to the gynecologist and I had been with my husband for over 10 years.
Looking back, I see how foolish these reasons were and the tremendous consequences that followed because I chose to be careless with my health.
Once I finally saw my gynecologist because of several symptoms, he told me I had a tumor and since it was too big, I was not a good candidate for a hysterectomy. The course of action we were going to have to take ( if we had any chance of beating this) was chemotherapy, external radiation for 8 weeks and two treatments of internal radiation.
I was about to start the fight for my life. The journey was long and difficult, but I had the support of my wonderful husband, family and friends, who gave me strength and made me realize the many blessings around me which comforted me, because I was scared beyond belief.
I started treatment early January 2009. Eight weeks went by and I thought the worst of these treatments had passed. I was wrong! I started a course of internal radiation, in which the doctors inserted an implant inside my cervix with radiation rods. I had to stay in the hospital for 3 days and absolutely no visitors were allowed due to the exposure of radiation. I never felt so ALONE.
On May 5, 2009 I went in for a scan to see if all of these treatments had worked. Thankfully, my tumor was GONE and there were no cancer cells visible. The nightmare was over!!!
Due to lack of education and misconceptions of the disease on my part, I was embarrassed that I had cervical cancer due to HPV (a sexually transmitted infection). I couldn’t understand how I got this until I started educating myself about HPV and its link to cervical cancer.
In the U.S. alone, 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 4,000 will die every year.
Cervical cancer is caused by “high-risk” types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), and at least 50 percent of sexually active women will have HPV at some point in their lives. Two of the major issues with this disease are lack of education and lack of screening. Early detection through pap tests and HPV testing are key to preventing this disease from developing into cancer.
Currently, I am cancer free and I use my story to let women know that my story doesn’t have to be theirs and that they don’t have to be a statistic. I am also the NYC Chapter President of Tamika and Friends, Inc. (www.tamikaandfriends.org), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about cervical cancer. No women should die of this disease nor lose their fertility to cervical cancer.
Depression Affects Preventive Health Screening among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors
08 months ago
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez
Depression, in addition to other barriers, may prevent Latina breast cancer survivors from undergoing preventive health screening for colorectal and ovarian cancer, according to a new study.
The study was presented by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, on Sept. 19, 2011, at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Washington D.C.
“Depression can make people more inattentive to potential risks to their health and more likely to ignore recommendations to reduce their risk,” Dr. Ramirez said.
Because depression is more common among breast cancer patients than the general population and because 10% of all new cancers are diagnosed in cancer survivors, Ramirez and colleagues examined the extent of depression among a group of 117 Latina breast cancer survivors to assess the barriers that were thwarting preventive health screening for colorectal and ovarian cancer.
All of the outcomes were self-reported and all patients were screened for depression.
“The most important thing that we found was that Hispanic breast cancer survivors were more depressed than Hispanics in the general population, and that they were not following recommendations to continue their other cancer screening behaviors,” Dr. Ramirez said.
Of the women who were surveyed, about one-third met the criteria for depression. Only five had been screened for both colorectal and ovarian cancers and about 60% had not been screened for one cancer or the other.
Ramirez said that a broad-based preventive strategy is needed to increase screening and healthy behaviors among this population.
“Regardless of depression or not, we need to work with these women to help them understand that they need to get more involved with their health care,” she said. “We also have to get a better handle on the underpinnings of depression among cancer survivors.”
Read more here.
Tiendas Olot
Wowww!! nice Blog!! 
2 weeks ago
Gloria Huerta
Where is the Spanish language version of this blog or is there one? I work with Spanish-only speaking communities. Thank you! Maybe that […]
1 month ago
LIVESTRONG
Way to go! Congrats to Marynieves and all of the amazing LIVESTRONG Promotoras!
2 months ago