In the United States, cancer is a significant public health challenge. For example, among Latinos, who are 19.5% of the population, rates are higher and prognoses are poorer than other groups. The Latino cancer burden is driven by complex interactions in 13 key areas, according to a new publication from the Task Force: Latino Researchers Against Cancer in the journal Frontiers in Public Health. The task force, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of UT Health San Antonio and comprised of specialists in oncology, public health, and behavioral sciences, spent a year meeting together to unpack the influences contributing to cancer, from genetics to societal practices. "Findings highlight environmental hazards, genetic susceptibilities, stigmas, and linguistic barriers as significant ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Using Science to Address Latino Health Disparities Research
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., is Director of NIMHD at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This plenary session occurred at 8:30 am., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, at the 4th biennial Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference. Health differences Dr. Pérez-Stable began his presentation by discussing populations with health differences. While background along with social and economic factors are the fundamental pillars of health differences science, the intersection of these factors with rural populations, other overlooked groups, and people with physical or mental challenges are also important to ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Designing Food Pantries to Improve Food Security Among Cancer Survivors
Dr. Sandi Pruitt is Associate Professor and Associate Director of Community Outreach, Engagement, and More in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Crossroads Community Services. Food security and cancer Dr. Sandi Pruitt’s presentation discussed food security and cancer, best practices and solutions, and a Dallas pantry redesign. The gold standard for measuring food security is the validated US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) survey, which is offered in 6, 10, and 18 question ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Residence in a Latino Enclave and Clinical Outcomes in Texas Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Dr. Jeremy Schraw is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Schraw began by pointing out the higher incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) among Latino children, and the poorer overall survival (OS) following diagnosis. Non-medical drivers of health (NMDoH) likely contribute to these inconsistencies. In fact, children living in Latino enclaves, defined as neighborhoods with a high proportion of Latino residents, recent immigrants, and linguistically isolated households, have poorer OS after ...
This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Task Force: Latino Researchers Against Cancer
This session occurred at 11:15 a.m., Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at the 4th biennial Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference. Dr. Amelie Ramirez is Professor at the University of Texas (UT) San Antonio, Director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio, and Associate Director of Cancer Outreach and Engagement at Mays Cancer Center. Dr. Ramirez’s presentation focused on communicating the mission and first year results of the Task Force: Latino Researchers Against Cancer (TFLRAC). The Task Force’s mission is to meet quarterly for 2 ...
Physical activity can have many benefits for cancer survivors, from improving their quality of life to potentially making it less likely that their disease will come back. Yet studies have shown that many cancer survivors struggle to get the recommended levels of physical activity, particularly those affected by health differences. Now, according to the results of a new study, a program in Texas has shown it can get these cancer survivors moving more by supporting them in the communities where they live, and by getting their caregivers to become more active as well. The cancer survivors and caregivers, who were mostly Latino, were participants in a 12-week program called Active Living After Cancer. After completing the program, the percentage of survivors getting recommended ...
In 2024, an estimated 195,300 cancer cases will be diagnosed in U.S. Latinos, according to Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanic/Latino People 2024-2026. This makes it important that cancer treatments work for Latinos. Clinical trials – studies with volunteers that explore ways to find, prevent, and treat diseases, like cancer – are a treatment option that could help people. With clinical trial participation in mind, Dr. Eneida Nemecek and her team at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute created Proyecto Mi Opción, a series of Spanish-language videos that tackle different cancer-related topics. Watch the videos!
The Lack of Latinos in Clinical Trial Research
Latinos face several challenges when it comes to cancer including access to ...
Latinos with cancer face a challenging survivorship journey. Explore these cancer survivorship challenges at UT Health San Antonio’s webinar, “How to Support Latino Cancer Survivors,” which occurred at 11 a.m. Central on Monday, July 15, 2024. The webinar featured experts from the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, Genentech, as well as cancer survivors and safety-net organizations, who will explore cancer among Latinos and how to help them on the road to recovery. Topics covered patient support, support groups, clinical trials, referrals to resources through screening for non-medical drivers of health, and more. This is a part of a webinar series, “Let’s Improve Health in South Texas and Beyond." The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, recently shared the need to help cancer survivors on "Science & Medicine," an audio collaboration of Texas Public Radio and UT Health San Antonio. Bonnie Petrie, TPR's bioscience and medicine reporter, hosted the segment. Ramirez spoke to Petrie about her project to improve care and life for cancer survivors in South Texas, called “Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study.” "Our big goal is to really have more [quality] care for everyone, not only in South Texas, but nationwide, and that their outcomes for survival are also improved,” Ramirez said during the segment. Listen to the full audio here.
About the Avanzando Caminos Research ...
