Video Series: The Mind-Boggling Burden of Latino Cancer



A unique new five-part video series explores the nuances of cancer in Latino populations. Part 1: Demographics Part 2: Disparities Part 3: Cultural Values Part 4: Physical, Emotional Concerns Part 5: Supporting the Needs The videos, produced by the Nurse Oncology Education Program (NOEP), feature several researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, including IHPR Director/Professor Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, Research Instructor Sanrda San Miguel, and Patient Navigation/Promotora Guadalupe Cornejo. The trio also play large roles in the IHPR's Latino cancer research network, Redes En Acción, funded by the National Cancer Institute. Here are Parts ...

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For Latinas, Patient Navigation Can Speed Breast Cancer Diagnosis


promotora patient navigator

Extra support for patients, called “patient navigation,” can lead to faster diagnosis for Latinas after an abnormal mammogram result, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR), part of the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The study, published this week by the journal Cancer, also suggests that patient navigation should be carefully targeted to have the greatest impact on eventual health outcomes. IHPR researchers worked with partners in the federally funded Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Network to examine the experiences of 425 Latinas in six cities nationwide. Each woman had received an abnormal result in initial breast cancer screening and was referred for further ...

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IHPR Promotora Programs Take Center Stage at White House



Sandra San Miguel de Majors, a research instructor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the Health Science Center at San Antonio, touted the use of community health workers—called promotores—to improve people's health at the Latina Health Policy Briefing for Promotores de Salud on Sept. 26, 2012, at the White House in Washington, D.C. The policy briefing, organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review the affordable care act, united key Latino health care providers, researchers, stakeholders and promotores to discuss successful evidenced-based Latino research initiatives utilizing promotores. The briefing featured Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary. San ...

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Apply Now: Èxito! Program Helps Latinos Seek Doctoral Degrees, Research Careers



Editor's Note: Apply by March 15 for the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Elie Benavidez, a master’s-degree student at The University of Texas at San Antonio, already is making strides to improve the lives of Latinos. She teaches elementary-school students and volunteers her time to increase local access to healthy food. Now Benavidez, inspired by her mother’s cancer battle, is considering seeking a doctoral degree and doing cancer research. That’s why she and 19 other master’s-level students or health professionals joined the Institute for Health Promotion Research’s second-annual Summer Institute of Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training on June 7-11, 2012, in San Antonio. Exito! encourages participants to pursue a doctoral ...

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IHPR’s Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez Featured in ‘Faces of LIVESTRONG’



Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is among the cancer research leaders, survivors, advocates and donors featured on the cover of the new edition of the LIVESTRONG Quarterly magazine. Ramirez, a LIVESTRONG board member, and others share their inside stories of what it means to join up and feel the power of local, national, and global connection for cancer survivorship. About Dr. Ramirez, from the magazine: When it comes to cancer prevention and message integration, you could call Dr. Ramirez an ambassador of equality. A member of the LIVESTRONG board of directors and director of outreach and health care disparities at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio, Texas, Ramirez also ...

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Apply for ‘Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training’



Are you a Latino master's student or master's-level professional in Texas? You are invited to apply by Feb. 18, 2011, for Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, a new training program to encourage Latino master’s students and master’s professionals to pursue a doctoral degree in a Latino health disparity research field and/or cancer control research career. Éxito! is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Éxito! consists of: A 5-day Summer Institute in June 2011 that offers teaching, tools and resources Paid Internships (Starting in 2012) Doctoral Application Support Awards (Starting in 2012) Doctoral Biannual Retreats (Starting in 2014) "We believe that Éxito! can increase ethnic diversity in the ...

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New Speaker Series Focuses on Cancer Health Disparities; Starts Oct. 20



The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and UT San Antonio are teaming up to launch the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI) Distinguished Health Disparities Lecture Series, which will periodically bring some of the top U.S. health disparities experts to San Antonio to offer the latest trends, tools and advancements in the fight against cancer health disparities among the underserved. The series starts Oct. 20 and runs until August 2011. The series will feature speakers who can enhance the knowledge and abilities of local doctors and researchers, who then can apply learned techniques and strategies in their labs, clinics and communities. South Texas residents, particularly Hispanics/Latinos, experience many health disparities—the disproportionately higher incidence and ...

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Lance Armstrong Celebrates Progress Made by Redes En Acción, Others to Reduce Latino Cancer



Cyclist and cancer prevention activist Lance Armstrong visited patients and met with researchers to discuss the Latino cancer burden in San Francisco on Sept. 21 in a visit facilitated in part by Sandra San Miguel, a research instructor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Armstrong met with the researchers of the northwest site of the IHPR's Latino cancer research network, Redes En Acción, including researchers Drs. Eliseo Pérez-Stable and Anna Nápoles and promotora Marynieves Diaz-Mendez. Armstrong called his meeting with Redes researchers "incredible," and lauded the Redes/LIVESTRONG National Promotores Education and Outreach project. The project has identified and trained bilingual ...

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‘Insider’ Training Program to Increase Number of Latino Researchers Studying Latino Cancer



Question: Who might have insider information about Latinos that would pave the way for novel studies of cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic issues to prevent Latinos from suffering worse cancer outcomes? Answer: A cancer researcher who also is a Latino. To that end, the new Latino Training Program for Cancer Control Research (LTPCCR), led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio thanks to a new five-year, $1.57-million grant from the National Cancer Institute, aims to motivate Latinos to get their doctoral degree and become “insider researchers” in the field of cancer control among Latinos. Right now, few Latinos pursue doctoral degrees or cancer research careers, causing a gap in the amount of ...

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