Study: A Few Cups of Coffee a Day May Help Colon Cancer Patients Recover Better



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 ...

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Study: Latinas with Breast Cancer Are Less Involved in Choosing Care Providers



Latina and black women are less likely than white women to pick their surgeon and hospital for treatment based on reputation, according to a new, Medical Express reports. Instead, they rely more on physician referrals and health plans for those decisions. The study, published in JAMA Oncology, suggests less-active involvement of minority patients with regard to selecting physicians and hospitals for their care. "Most women relied on referrals from their physicians for selecting surgeons, particularly black women and Spanish-speaking Hispanic women. In addition, minority patients were less likely to report reputation as an important component of their decisions about surgeons and hospitals and were more likely to select a hospital because it was part of their health plan," according to ...

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Study: Latina, Black Breast Cancer Patients Have Poor Knowledge about Their Condition



U.S. women with breast cancer do not know much about their condition, and minority women are much less likely to report accurate knowledge about their tumors, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer, Medical News Today reports. Researchers asked 500 women about their breast cancer grade, stage, and subtype. "The results showed that while 32-82% said they knew each of the tumor characteristics they were asked about, only 20-58% could actually specify them correctly," according to the news article. Latina and black women had less knowledge about their tumors. Less knowledge was also associated with having less formal education and lower health literacy. A woman's cancer knowledge is important, researchers say, because patients who fully understand their cancer may be ...

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