Articles by Catherine Stewart

Navigate the Dense Road of Breast Health Using the Breast Density Road Map

January 22, 2026

Turning 40 is a big milestone for many women in their career, lifestyle, and familia. It’s also a big year for health – like scheduling your first mammogram. An annual mammogram, starting at age 40, is important because it can tell you a lot about your breast health, including if you have dense breasts. Women with dense breasts, including Latinas, have a higher risk for breast cancer and may require more screenings. What do you need to know about breast density? Check out our new guide, The Breast Density Road Map, to help you navigate breast density and what it means for your breast health. The guide was created by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of UT Health San Antonio with expertise from Dr. Jessica Treviño Jones, a breast medical oncologist at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San ...

Share Your Experience with Obesity to Inform Healthcare Best Practices

January 21, 2026

A little over 40% of US adults are impacted by obesity, including many Latinos, putting them at higher risk for diabetes, heart issues, and cancer. But when people with obesity try to get help, negative stigma can curb progress. Often, they hear advice from healthcare providers like; “Eat healthier” or “Work out.” While these are key parts of a healthy life, other factors and underlying conditions are involved. When a healthcare provider is quick to dismiss a patient with this advice, it can make the patient feel like they are to blame and may even make matters worse. That’s why the Endocrine Society is launching interactive listening sessions to enable patients and people who have experience with obesity to help shape best practices and clinical ...

Early Career Investigators: Apply to Advance Collaborative Aging Science!

January 14, 2026

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Alzheimer’s and related dementias continue to hurt an aging population, including many older Latinos. One way to address this is to gather the brightest minds to collaborate on important brain health issues affecting older adults. That’s one of the primary goals of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Research Centers Collaborative Network (RCCN). The RCCN is looking to bring researchers together from the 7 NIA center programs to work on these issues through a series of workshops. The next workshop in the series, “Multidisciplinary Research in Aging/Team Science,” is set for May 20-21, 2026, in Bethesda, Maryland. Travel awards are available for 10 early-career investigators with applications due Feb. 27, 2026. “These workshops will feature the ...

Health Workers: Spring Into Health Literacy with Virtual Learning Series

January 12, 2026

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Health Confianza is following up on its successful health literacy virtual series with a new one focused on a wide range of topics. Last year the series covered information on how health workers and professionals can address stigma and use plain language with patients. This time around the organization is helping health workers navigate incorrect health information, support individuals with physical and mental hardships, and discuss how to speak up for health literacy. The upcoming series, Communicating with Confianza — A Health Literacy ECHO, is a six-part online learning experience focused on “empowering health professionals with health literacy education, resources and knowledge-sharing tools,” according to the nonprofit funded by Bexar County and ...

Nuts and Bolts Program Gives Researchers Tools for Success

January 7, 2026

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From recruiting study participants to seeking approval from a university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), there are so many facets of clinical research. When considering how to navigate it, look no further than the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School's Nuts and Bolts of Executing a Clinical or Population Research Study virtual series. This series aims to help researchers achieve research success by giving them the tools they need to make a positive impact in healthcare. About the ‘Nuts and Bolts’ Program The series consists of one-hour discussion forums spanning several topics aligned with running a clinical or population research study. Previous topics include recruitment and retention, navigating IRBs, HIPAA ...

Webinar: Difference in Density: Why it Matters for Your Breast Health

December 29, 2025

Do you have dense breasts? Half of US women have dense breasts, but many don’t even know it or know how it impacts their breast health. Let’s discuss breast density, mammography, and how it relates to cancer at UT Health San Antonio’s webinar, “Difference in Density: Why it Matters for Your Breast Health,” at 12 p.m. Central on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. This webinar features experts from the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, a breast cancer survivor with firsthand experience with dense breasts, and a representative from the Susan G. Komen foundation. Together, they will discuss how to talk to your doctor about dense breasts and the steps you should take to monitor your breast health following a dense breast diagnosis. With this knowledge, ...

March of Dimes Report Card: US Scores Low on Preterm Birth Rates for Fourth Year

December 15, 2025

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Last year, the US earned a D+ for preterm birth on the March of Dimes Report Card. The March of Dimes Report Card is an annual report that signifies where states and the rest of the country are in terms of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity. This year, the US is following up its last poor rating with another D+, making it the fourth consecutive year the country has earned the substandard score. Of the births that occurred in the US in 2024, nearly 380,000 babies were born preterm, accounting for every 1 in 10 births, according to the report. Let’s take a closer look at the March of Dimes Report Card and what it means for infant and maternal health in the US. Preterm Births in the US March of Dimes, which pushes for better maternal and infant ...

Spanish-Language Lactation Resource Aims to Help Mothers Breastfeed Their Babies

December 8, 2025

A smiling woman doctor pediatrician cuddles a cute baby girl on her cheek while her mother holding her.

Breastfeeding has many health benefits for both mothers and babies. For mothers, breastfeeding can help speed up the recovery process after birth, reduce long-term health risks, including breast and ovarian cancers, and help with postpartum weight loss due to the extra calories being burned. For infants, breastfeeding contains optimal nutrition for immune protection from illnesses helps with brain development, and reduces risks of chronic health conditions like obesity. Unfortunately, without access to Spanish-language lactation resources, too many Latinas give up breastfeeding too soon. That’s where the Mama Sana Program comes into play. The program offers mothers Spanish-language support to help them navigate the difficult journey that is ...

About the Author

Catherine Stewart