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Selina Noe

Selina Noe is a pre-med undergraduate student at Trinity University majoring in Global Health. She joined Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, on August 2021 as a Digital Content Curator intern. In her free time, she enjoys working out, reading, and making beats for fun.

Articles by Selina Noe

Ricki Fairley: Fighting for Better Breast Cancer Outcomes Among Black Women  



When it comes to triple negative breast cancer, Ricki Fairley is a veteran on the battlefield.   “I am a 10-year survivor of triple negative breast cancer. My doctor gave me two years to live, and I'm on 10,” Fairley said.    Fairley is the CEO and co-founder of TOUCH—the Black Breast Cancer Alliance.    She is determined to diversify clinical trials, which can help find better therapies for Black, Latino, and other people of color.   “I'm really on a path, a mission to eradicate Black breast cancer and really change the game on how we talk to Black women about clinical trials. And right now, we only have 3% participation in clinical trials. So, the drugs that are currently on the market and the ...

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Silvia López Chavez: Community Advocacy through Art



If one were to walk in the streets of Boston and see a colorful mural, there’s a big chance Silvia López Chavez created that masterpiece.  López Chavez is a Dominican-American visual artist changing the meaning of advocacy.   Throughout her career she has created many murals with bold and vivid colors capturing Latino traditions and culture while emphasizing the intersection of art design and community issues like the environment and healthy food.  “I think that as an artist, I feel the responsibility of being someone who is not only creating art, to change and transform spaces, but also people,” López Chavez said. “And I think that my goal is to be able to connect as much as possible using art as a vehicle for connection with others to myself, to others and also ...

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The $21 Billion Burden of Cancer Care for U.S. Patients



The patient economic burden for cancer in the U.S. was $21.09 billion, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “[This total is] made up of patient out-of-pocket costs of $16.22 billion and patient time costs of $4.87 billion,” according to the annual report. As technology, cancer research, and medicine advances, the effectiveness of therapy treatments only seem to proliferate.  Though this is good news, the reality is that modern cancer treatments are a financial burden to people of color, who also face barriers to equitable cancer care.  Latinos in particular face obstacles such as poor health literacy, concerns about test efficacy, and language and cultural beliefs related to cancer, ...

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COVID-19 Pandemic Causing Loss of Children’s Primary or Secondary Caregiver



Many children in the U.S. have lost a parent or caregiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, 1 in 500 U.S. children have experienced COVID-19 associated orphanhood, and Latinos and others of color are particularly affected, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.  “From April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, data suggest that more than 140,000 children under age 18 in the United States lost a parent, custodial grandparent, or grandparent caregiver who provided the child’s home and basic needs, including love, security, and daily care,” states the study, led by researchers at CDC, Harvard University, Imperial College of London, and others. The study found that the pandemic accentuated racial, ethnic, and geographical disparities associated with the deaths of ...

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5 Things to Know About Día de los Muertos



Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, is a lively annual Mexican holiday that celebrates friends and family members who have passed away.  Characterized by vibrant parades, singing, traditional dress and costumes, and altar building, Día de los Muertos brings unity between the living and returning spirits. “This indigenous holiday from Mexico celebrates the loving connection between the living and our departed loved ones that is so deeply missing in Western culture,” said Aya de Leon, a Puerto Rican novelist and Berkley professor, as reported by San Antonio Express News.  For Día de los Muertos, our team at Salud America! is honored to remember the loved ones we’ve lost from COVID-19 and other conditions, and protect the health of our living familia. 1. ...

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Report: The Relationship between Climate Change and Health Equity


Climate change

Climate change is an ongoing environmental dilemma that threatens the health of all people. Yet, research has shown that certain groups, such as Latinos and other people of color, immigrants, those with a lower socio-economic status, and vulnerable occupational groups are most likely to suffer longer and more severely from climate change. “The effects of climate change add to other longstanding differences among people that result in different health outcomes for communities in the United States,” reported the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. What Is Climate Change? Climate change is defined as a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Long-term alterations in temperature or the typical weather patterns of a certain location can lead to ...

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Report: Labor Unions Preserved Latino Jobs During COVID-19 Pandemic


Latino labor union workers

Workforce inequities are nothing new for people of color, specifically Latinos.  Long before COVID-19, many Latinos had unstable jobs with little-to-no benefits and lower wages than their white non-Latino coworkers. The pandemic made things worse.  But one thing saved many Latino jobs—a labor union contract, according to a comparison of unionized and non-unionized Latino workers by UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative.  Labor unions are organizations of workers that come together to negotiate better working conditions or other benefits as a collective bargaining. “Our analysis suggests that unionization—even within the same industry and occupation—preserved employment and wages for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for variations in ...

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