Marielle Santos McLeod thought she knew a lot about cancer care. Years as a health professional had given her time to learn about cancer care and gain a closer look at the barriers Latinos face in getting equitable treatment. That’s why, when the mother of four was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 36, she was shocked by just how little she really knew. However, it was enduring the disease as a young Latina that guided her toward her life's purpose – serving as a patient advocate to uplift the voice of Latino cancer survivors. “I love advocacy .... It's like one of the things that I'm convinced that I was put on this earth to do. I just had to get cancer to get to it first,” Santos McLeod said.
Spanish-Language Influence
Santos McLeod doesn’t believe ...
If colorectal cancer is detected early, survival rates are vastly improved. Sadly, colorectal cancer screening rates are low among Latinos. This makes it the second-most diagnosed cancer in Latino men and women and the No. 3 cancer killer of Latinos. Good news: You can help change these statistics! For Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March, let's use #SaludTues on March 14, 2017, to see how you can prevent colorectal cancer and learn about the National Cancer Institute's Screen to Save Colorectal Cancer Outreach and Screening Initiative to boost screening among racial/ethnic and rural communities. WHAT: #SaludTues: Screen to Save Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Awareness”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2017
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag ...
Drinking a few cups of coffee a day can help colon cancer patients (the second most diagnosed cancer among Latinos) recover better and lower their chances of dying early according to a new study-- reports NBC News. For the study colon cancer patients reported in a daily diary their daily physical activity and their diet. "What we found in this slightly less than 1,000 patients is that those who drank coffee regularly had a better disease-free survival, meaning they had a lower rate of having their cancer recur or of dying," Dr. Charles Fuchs, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston told NBC News. Researchers found that “those who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 42 percent less likely to have their cancer come ...
Having a colonoscopy might be pretty low on Latino adults’ to-do lists. Even hearing the term “colonoscopy” might make some people a bit squeamish. But it can also save your life. Just take it from Armida Flores, a promotora (a trained community health worker) at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Flores spends her days helping people confront cancers and illness. Because of this, she began to worry about her own health and decided to schedule a colonoscopy. “I was a little bit nervous about it but, to my surprise, the procedure was not too bad,” Flores said. “I was asleep, so I did not feel any pain or discomfort.” After explaining the procedure using simple medical terms, the doctor even ...
In a telephone survey, Latinos were found to be less likely than whites to get screened for colon cancer, and much less likely when both groups had a family history of the disease, Reuters reports. However, the study results did not show an ethnic difference in which women had recently been screened for breast cancer, whether or not it was in their families. According to the news report:
Researchers didn't know why each person in the study had or hadn't gotten screened. But they proposed a few reasons why Latinos might not get their regular colon cancer check-ups, including communication problems with doctors and fear and anxiety about being screened.
"It seems very plausible that this is not happening for Latinos because of access barriers and language barriers," said Heather Orom, who ...
In honor of Hispanic Heritage month (Sept. 19-Oct. 15), the Colon Cancer Alliance has created a 30-second public service announcement video in English and Spanish that emphasizes talking to your family about your family health history and getting a screening test for colon cancer. Hispanics often are diagnosed with a later stage of cancer, when the disease can be harder to treat. Colon cancer is one of the few cancers you can catch before it turns into cancer through the detection of precancerous polyps. The Colon Cancer Alliance is a non-profit that works to increase colon cancer awareness and screening test rates. Visit their Spanish website at ...
Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of adults ages 50-75 who had undergone screening for colorectal cancer with a method recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force rose from 51.9 percent to 62.9 percent, according to new CDC figures published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. During the same time period, the percentage of women ages 50-74 who had received a mammogram in the previous 2 years declined slightly, from 81.5 percent to 81.1 percent. Adults ages 50-59, Hispanics, and persons with lower income, less than a high school education, and without health insurance were least likely to have been screened for colorectal cancer. Women ages 50-59, women with less than a high school education, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, women without health insurance, ...
More than 22 million adults have not had screening tests for colon cancer, and more than 7 million women have not had a recent mammogram to screen for breast cancer as recommended, according to reports in a new monthly scientific publication called CDC Vital Signs. About a third of people are not getting colon cancer screening, which can detect the disease early when it is most treatable. This could be because they don't know they can get colon cancer, they don't have insurance or a doctor (a more likely case among Latinos), or their doctor hasn't recommended screening. Some women are not getting mammograms as recommended. About one of five women between the ages of 50 and 74 has not had a mammogram in the past two years. Latinas get screened at an even less frequent rate. The CDC ...
