Posts tagged NCI

New Research Targets Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health

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3 weeks ago
by admin in

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has published “The Science of Research on Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health,” a supplement to the American Journal of Public Health, to highlight the need for and state of empirical research on racial/ethnic discrimination and its association with the health and health care received by minorities.

The issue opens with an article that reviews current measures, research approaches, data resources, and results of research on race/ethnicity-based health care discrimination, and goes on to focus on measurement, implicit bias, perception of discrimination and institutional racism, while also suggesting areas for future research.

The issue can serve as a valuable resource for researchers in this topic area and will help position researchers, policymakers, and professionals at all levels of health care to address the effects of discrimination in the evolving health care environment.

Access free full texts of the issue’s article here.

South Texas Study Seeks to Motivate Breast Cancer Survivors to Get Fit

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1 month ago
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Dora exerciseDo encouraging, personalized messages, received on a regular basis, inspire women to exercise after they’ve been treated for breast cancer?

To find out, the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio is enrolling Hispanic survivors of breast cancer for a 16-week clinical research exercise study conducted in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley to address this topic.

Changed thinking that leads to self-confidence leads to changed behavior—that’s the idea behind the study.

The study requires two visits to the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Regional Academic Health Center campus in Harlingen to answer questionnaires, do a complete physical fitness assessment and develop each woman’s individualized comprehensive exercise program. Also, based on the answers, each woman receives a personalized newsletter geared just for her.

“The goal is to motivate the Hispanic women to increase their physical activity, as studies have shown this improves quality of life and reduces the risk of developing other cancers and diseases,” said Gabriela Villanueva, research area specialist associate with the IHPR, who is working on the National Cancer Institute-funded study led by the IHPR’s Dr. Daniel Carlos Hughes. “It’s a really good program for our women.”

Hispanic women 18 and older who completed their cancer treatment at least two months prior are invited to inquire about eligibility. Several Hispanic women have joined the study since it began early this year, but researchers are looking for more.

Study participants will be compensated up to $75 in gift cards for participating.

But perhaps the best part is they get a prescription of exercise that they can carry on long after the study has ended.

For more information, contact Villanueva at (956) 365-8699 or villanuevag@uthscsa.edu.

Case Study: Closing Health Gaps for Latinos with Cancer

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1 month ago
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LIVESTRONG has published the case study behind its successful Latino outreach campaign that seeks to close the gap in health disparities for Hispanics diagnosed with cancer.

The case study on the campaign, Navigating the Cancer Experience: Reviewing the Impact of LIVESTRONG‘s Navigation Services, indicates that in 2010 more than 25,000 Latinos were served through LIVESTRONG‘s direct support, print or online resources at LIVESTRONGEspanol.org.

Also, the number of Latino survivors accessing LIVESTRONG’s free, confidential navigation services increased by 40%.

The campaign also received an honorable mention for Multicultural Marketing Campaign of the Year at the recent PRWeek Awards.

“LIVESTRONG is honored to be recognized by PRWeek for our work on behalf of vulnerable and underserved communities,” said Katherine McLane, LIVESTRONG senior director for communications and external affairs, in a statement. “This public education campaign is helping to bridge the gap in healthcare resources for Hispanic cancer survivors and, equally important, addressing the need for culturally relevant communications to at-risk populations. By publically sharing the study behind our successful campaign, we hope people can use this information to benefit Hispanics affected by cancer.”

Cancer is the second leading cause of death for U.S. Latinos, accounting for about 20 percent of all deaths, statistics show. Research shows that many Latinos fail to recognize symptoms of cancer, which frequently leads to late detection and therefore poor treatment outcomes.

Factors contributing to the high rate of deaths from cancer among Latinos include: language barriers, cultural beliefs, among others.

To address this alarming trend, LIVESTRONG in November 2010 launched a national public education campaign to generate awareness of its free resources available in English and Spanish for Hispanics/Latinos affected by cancer.

The campaign—aided by the input of Sandra San Miguel de Majors, a research instructor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, which partnered with LIVESTRONG through its National Cancer Institute-funded Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network—was comprised of various highly targeted outreach initiatives and anchored by a community health worker (or promotores) training program designed to empower cancer survivors by equipping them with the necessary resources.

LIVESTRONG now has a growing network of promotores who work in the community to help spread the word about these services, having trained 500 promotores in 16 states and plans to train 750 more in 2012.

Read the full case study here.

How Can You Contribute to the Improvement of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention?

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2 months ago
by admin in ,

Latinos, you may not know how important it is for cancer researchers to have racial/ethnic biospecimens.

Increasing the number of Latino biospecimens—or samples of biological material, such as blood, urine, saliva, tissue, tumors, etc.—will be critical to accelerating our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer and creating a more accurate genome in many types of cancers that disproportionately affect Latinos.

This, in turn, will lead to the development of better diagnostic tools; and ultimately, to improve our ability to diagnose, treat and prevent cancer among all people.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a joint effort between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

TCGA uses an integrated approach of connecting hundreds of researchers across the cancer care continuum with the intent of broadening knowledge and understanding of the underlying molecular basis of cancer through the application of various genome analysis technologies, including large-scale genomic sequencing. TCGA is examining a very large number of samples, up to 500 samples for each tumor type, that will provide the statistical power needed to produce a comprehensive genomic profile of each cancer.

TCGA bears the significant laboratory costs of comprehensively processing and characterizing biospecimens from the TCGA genomics datasets and across multiple genomic platforms and then, standardizing, and integrating the data and clinical annotation across all the contributing sites. Software is available for a broad range of data management and associated analysis tools.

For more information on how you can help/participate, visit the TCGA website or contact Susan Serice of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio at serice@uthscsa.edu.

NCI’s Cancer.gov Goes Mobile

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2 months ago
by admin in ,

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has launched a new mobile website, m.cancer.gov.

Designed specifically for mobile phone users on any mobile platform, the site in English and Spanish offers much of the same high-quality information found on cancer.gov’s desktop site.

Available in English and Spanish, m.cancer.gov provides cancer patients, their loved ones, and their caregivers with credible, current information about:

  • A wide range of cancer types
  • Cancer diagnosis and treatment
  • Dealing with treatment side effects
  • Questions to ask your doctor
  • Breaking and current cancer news
  • A dictionary of cancer terms that includes audio pronunciations
  • One-touch connection to NCI’s 1-800-4-CANCER information specialist line

In the future, additional content, including information about clinical trials, will be added to m.cancer.gov.

Èxito! Grad Testimonial: Marievelisse Soto-Salgado

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2 months ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program.

Marievelisse Soto-Salgado
Puerto Rico

Marievelisse Soto-Salgado

Marievelisse Soto-Salgado grew up dedicated to solving public health problems in what she calls “La Isla del Encanto”—her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

She got her passion for science and research through her time obtaining a bachelor’s degree in general sciences and a master’s degree in public health. She’s even been working for several years with a team of researchers at the University of Puerto Rico on a National Cancer Institute-funded cancer research project, and she coordinates a Biostatistics and Bioinformatics core and provides statistical support and consultation for cancer research projects.

Soto-Salgado knows she wants to continue working in Latino cancer research, but wanted to learn more about academic opportunities available in the U.S. before deciding to pursue a doctoral degree.

So she joined Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase diversity in Latino health disparities and cancer research by encouraging Latino master’s-level students and master’s trained health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in research.

“Before entering into the Éxito! program, I knew I was interested in a career in cancer control within the Latino/Hispanic community, but the Éxito! program helped me realize that this is definitely what I want do,” Soto-Salgado said. “Through the speaker’s presentations, I found a research area—the behavioral sciences research area—that I did not know, and now I want to explore before making my PhD.”

Èxito! Grad Testimonial: Laura Reyes

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2 months ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program.

Laura Reyes
San Antonio, Texas

Laura Reyes

Laura Reyes is a native South Texan who developed a thirst for knowledge early in life, often visiting the library as a child with her mother, who was going through grad school.

As she continued to seek knowledge, her interest in science and the human body grew, and she eventually attended Loyola New Orleans University. Then the Hurricane Katrina disaster brought her back to San Antonio—a fortuitous transfer to St. Mary’s University that eventually got her interested in research techniques.

Reyes now is a master’s of public health student at the UT School of Public Health’s San Antonio campus, where she heard about Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training from professors and mentors.

She was attracted to Éxito!—which aims to increase diversity in Latino health disparities and cancer research by encouraging Latino master’s-level students and master’s trained health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in research—because she felt it would be a good way to learn more about cancer and the nuts and bolts of pursuing a doctoral degree.

She also saw it as an opportunity to network and meet new peers.

At the Éxito! Summer Institute in June 2011, Reyes said she was inspired by hearing from several guest speakers, including cancer researchers and professors, who talked about their life stories and career paths.

“Éxito! has opened up my eyes to cancer research,” said Reyes, who is interested in pursuing a dual PhD/MD program with a concentration in epidemiology. “Because of Éxito! I have read books regarding cancer research and have more of an interest and knowledge of cancer and cancer research.”

VIDEO: Latina Breast Cancer Factors and Prevention

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2 months ago
by admin in

Latinas, please watch this Spanish-language video about breast cancer factors and prevention featuring Dr. Jorge Gomez, director of the Office of Latin American Cancer Program Development of the National Cancer Institute.

Èxito! Grad Testimonial: Edianys Arlyn Velez

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2 months ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program.

Edianys Arlyn Velez
El Paso, Texas

Edianys Arlyn Velez

Edianys Arlyn Velez developed a passion for helping others from the constant support of her parents and her childhood experiences with family members diagnosed with cancer.

Her passion particularly applies to women’s health issues.

That’s why Velez currently is a master’s degree student at the University of Texas School of Public Health regional campus in El Paso, Texas, where she also coordinates a study investigating the genetic and environmental determinants of maternal and neonatal adverse pregnancy outcomes in El Paso.

Velez wants to do more. To explore doctoral degree options and learn more about cancer research, she joined Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training—which aims to increase diversity in Latino health disparities and cancer research by encouraging Latino master’s-level students and master’s trained health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in research.

“The program allowed me to realize that I could in fact apply, pursue, and obtain a doctorate degree in public health,” she said. “I was undecided prior to the Éxito! Summer Institute [in June 2011] and unsure as to whether or not I would be able to apply and be accepted into DrPH program, but the institute helped me to realize that such goals were attainable by giving me the tools necessary to find a right fit for me.”

Èxito! Grad Testimonial: Rebecca Adeigbe

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2 months ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program.

Rebecca Adeigbe
San Antonio, Texas

Rebecca Adeigbe

Rebecca Adeigbe grew up in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, a predominantly Latino region that often lacks basic infrastructure—like streets and running water—and also lacks doctors and public health services.

Seeing these conditions spurred her desire to help those underserved through a career in health.

Adeigbe now is working on her master’s degree in health and kinesiology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and also is a research area specialist at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. At the IHPR, she works on two National Cancer Institute (NCI) projects, a training program and a study investigating the most beneficial type of physical activity for breast cancer survivors.

She also has experience in adult and childhood obesity as a past project evaluator for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department’s “Communities Putting Prevention to Work” obesity prevention grant.

She hopes to obtain a doctoral degree in public health in community health practice.

But because she felt she needed more information on the application, acceptance and degree completion process for a doctoral degree, Adeigbe joined Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase diversity in Latino health disparities and cancer research by encouraging Latino master’s-level students and master’s trained health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in research.

At the Éxito! Summer Institute in June 2011, Adeigbe learned about the many opportunities available in cancer research and expressed a strong amount of certainty in continuing her research career in cancer control and prevention through the promotion of physical activity.

“Having heard the stories of other minority researchers I feel more confident and prepared to pursue a doctoral degree,” Adeigbe said. “The Éxito! Summer Institute has reduced the amount of uncertainty I have in pursuing a career in cancer control research.”

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