A Latina Cancer Survivor’s Story: ‘I’m Too Sexy for My Hair’



Editor's Note: To recognize National Cancer Survivor's Day on June 2, 2013, SaludToday is telling the stories of Latino survivors through their own words. By Julie La Fuente Louviere At 29, I was living in Puerto Rico, and I was in the best shape of my life, training for a triathlon and weighing only 115 pounds of muscle. I felt like I was in total control. I found a knot near my collarbone, which I believed was nothing, but my husband made me get it checked out. The diagnosis was breast cancer. I was in shock. I thought cancer was something that only old people got. I learned the ugly side effects of chemotherapy, like losing hair and eyebrows, but I could give them up if I had to. If I had to lose a breast to survive, I was ready. My motto became “Just do it.” If you want to ...

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Latinos & Cancer: Experts Tackle Cancer Myths, Disparities and Health Care in Webinar



A trio of experts discussed Latino cancer issues, including disparities, cancer myths, and health care issues in a webinar April 4, 2013, for National Minority Health Month. Speakers were: Amelie Ramirez, DrPH, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Elena Rios, MD, MPH, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association Rosa Villoch-Santiago, MPA, director of health disparities for the American Cancer Society’s South Atlantic Division Ramirez indicated that the rising U.S. Latino population faces heightened risks of certain cancer, compared to whites, according to a Saludify news report. Ramirez also said Latino cancers are expected to rise 142% by 2030. She also highlighted ways to reduce and prevent ...

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Who is Èxito!: Jenny Castillo



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Jenny Castillo Austin, Texas Native San Antonio resident Jenny Castillo not only cares about helping Latinos get off the couch and get fit to beat disease, she also knows the value of incorporating culturally infused methods of physical activity. For example, her passion for flamenco and folklorico dance represent an exciting way to bring Latino families together to get active. Castillo plans to put her passion for dance and her knowledge of Mexican American culture to good use as she pursues a master’s degree in health and kinesiology at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She expects to graduate in 2013. She ...

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Who is Èxito!: Bianca Flores



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Bianca Flores Austin, Texas Bianca Flores, a third-generation Texan with Mexican ancestry, wanted to learn more about the Mexican American community. So she studied Spanish and Mexican Studies and, as she earned her undergraduate degree, increasingly identified herself with the many struggles people of color in the U.S. face, and the health inequalities they experience. Flores wanted to help Mexican Americans make positive changes, so she earned her a master’s degree in public health nursing from the University of Texas at Austin, and worked as a nurse and a nursing instructor. Now she directs health ...

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Who is Èxito!: Paul Afnan



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Paul Afnan Houston, Texas With encouragement toward higher education from his El Salvadorian mother, Paul Afnan earned a bachelor’s degree in conservation and resources studies and made the dean’s list with a 4.0 GPA at the University of California, Berkeley. He knew he wanted to make a difference in people’s health. So he interned with a scientific agency in Managua, Nicaragua, where he enrolled children into a dengue/influenza cohort study and created a predictive model for patients with febrile illnesses. Afnan then moved from San Francisco to Houston, where he interned in infection control at Memorial ...

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Who is Èxito!: Melawhy Garcia



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Melawhy Garcia Anaheim, Calif. Melawhy Garcia was just 17 when her mother was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and colon cancer—unfortunately giving her firsthand knowledge of the income, insurance and other barriers faced by Latino cancer patients. Since then, Garcia has put cancer in her crosshairs. Garcia already has helped conduct research and awareness on cervical cancers and other health conditions prevalent among Latinos. She emphasizes research on cancer prevention, obesity and more in her current position as the assistant director of the California State University, Long Beach, National Council ...

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Webinar 3/12/13: The Impact of Systems and Neighborhoods on Latino Cancer



You're invited to join a free webinar March 12, 2013, to learn more about how systems and neighborhoods influence Latino cancer. The webinar, hosted by researchers of Redes En Acción, a National Cancer Institute project led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is at 11 a.m. CST (9 a.m. PST) on March 12, 2013, will explore two global factors that can help understand mechanisms behind health disparities: 1) systems of care defining access in a broad way and how these may affect disadvantaged patients; and 2) research on neighborhood influences on health disparities, with a focus on different approaches to measure "neighborhood." The webinar will last one ...

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Study: Latinas Have Severe Time Delay between Abnormal Mammogram, Confirmation of Breast Cancer



Latinas who have an abnormal mammogram result take 33 days longer to reach definitive diagnosis of breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Such a time delay can have a critical impact on tumor size, stage at diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and survival of subsequent breast cancer. For this study, published online in SpringerPlus in March 2013, IHPR researchers worked with partners in the federally funded Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Network to evaluate the differences in time to diagnosis of breast cancer among 186 Latinas and 74 non-Hispanic whites who received an abnormal mammogram result in six U.S. cities. Analysis ...

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Who is Èxito!: Elie Benavidez



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Elie Benavidez San Antonio, Texas A few years ago, Elie Benavidez was in the middle of her studies in San Antonio when she got a heartbreaking phone call: “Your mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.” Benavidez, with her mother’s encouragement, maintained her studies. Five years later, her mother—and other family members—are survivors, giving Benavidez all the motivation and support she needs to positively impacting the lives of students as a teacher and the community as an aspiring public health worker. “They taught me that, even though something bad has happened, they can still persevere,” ...

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