Program leaders have selected 26 aspiring Latino researchers from across the nation to join the 2021 cohort of Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training at UT Health San Antonio. Each year, Éxito! recruits U.S. master’s level students and professionals to participate in a five-day, culturally tailored Éxito! summer institute to promote pursuit of a doctoral degree and cancer research. The 26 new participants were selected from a deep pool of applicants. Each participant now will join the Éxito! summer institute on June 7-11, 2021 in San Antonio. They will interact with Latino researchers and doctoral experts to learn about Latino cancer, succeeding in a doctoral program, and the diversity of research careers.
Meet the 2021 Éxito! Ccohort Leslie Aragon, ...
By Liz Sanchez
Breast Cancer Survivor in San Antonio My name Liz Sanchez and I am a cancer survivor — twice, since 2010. I was first diagnosed with breast cancer on December 16, 2010, at the age of 39. It was approximately one week before Christmas. So as you can imagine, my holidays were ruined for me. My OB/GYN sent me for my first mammogram and this is how it was discovered. My doctor moved quickly by setting me up with an oncologist and surgeon. I was diagnosed at stage 2. My BRCA test was negative and my family did not have a history of breast cancer. My grandfather’s sister passed of stage 4 breast cancer, but it skipped a generation. I had my tumor removed surgically on Jan. 11, 2011. I then underwent radiation therapy only. I refused to have chemo. Being ...
We already know secondhand smoke is bad for you. But several recent studies further blame secondhand smoke for its harmful impact on the brain and body. Long-term exposure to second-hand smoke results in lower body weight and cognitive impairments, according to new research in mice led by Oregon Health & Science University. Researchers exposed mice to 168 minutes of secondhand smoke a day for 10 months. They found that secondhand smoke harms even "healthy" mice, altered the hippocampus region of the brain, and impacted cognition, especially among males. "Many people still smoke, and these findings suggest that the long-term health effects can be quite serious for people who are chronically exposed to second-hand smoke," said lead author Dr. Jacob Raber.
Why is this ...
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in Latinas. In fact, while breast cancer death rates have declined recently, the rate of decline for Latinas is lower (1.1% per year) than their white peers (1.8% per year). “Latinas are less likely to be screened for breast cancer, so they are more likely to be diagnosed at later disease stages,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) and the Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio. “This makes it critical to improve breast cancer screening, prevention, and support for Latinas.”
What Is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is cancer that forms in the cells of the breasts. After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. ...
Everyone deserves access to a healthy, safe school environment with the opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, many Latino and other children of color are disadvantaged through neighborhoods and schools that lack resources and funding. Latino kids are more likely to have unhealthy school food environments and are treated worse in schools. Children of color are often treated differently by school personnel; they are more likely to be harshly punished for minor infractions, and teachers may underestimate their abilities. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, to discuss inequities in school health and education that prevent Latino kids and other children of color from being healthy and successful in life. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: Inequities in School Health ...
Sugary drinks can contribute to obesity and disease, especially for children of color. A rising number of U.S. states and cities are hoping to curb consumption of soda, juice, and other beverages through a number of regulations, including implementing a sugary drink tax. Sugary drink taxes are shown to reduce the number of sugary drink purchases. They also raise money for local health programs. In Rhode Island, legislators hope to pass a sugary drink tax to help provide food to the hungry amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to State Sen. Valerie Lawson. “The pandemic has shined a glaring light on food insecurity in our state,” Lawson said, according to UPRISE RI. “Recently, Rhode Island Kids Count released their annual Fact Book showing that the pandemic had a ...
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, states have struggled with what to do when it comes to schools and online learning. In the beginning of the pandemic when not as much was known about the virus, schools were shut down and students were sent home to do virtual learning. But this brought up issues of internet accessibility for rural, low-income families, along with difficulties for parents who suddenly needed to work and provide childcare during the day. As COVID-19 vaccinations have grown and cases are slowly decreasing, many administrators are figuring out what school will look like this fall. “We have to be able to pivot,” said Kaweeda Adams, a superintendent in Albany, NY, according to the Washington Post. Let’s take a look at how safe schools are, what Latino ...
U.S. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely than whites to develop Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, the number of Latinos with Alzheimer’s and dementia could increase six-fold, from 200,000 today to 1.3 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. We need to raise awareness. We also need advocacy for solutions. Fortunately, our Salud America! #SaludTues Tweetchats, a discussion series on Twitter about Latino health, helped raise awareness of and advocacy action around Alzheimer's and its rise among Latinos, according to our new study in the Journal of Health Communication. The study found that #SaludTues Tweetchats provided a unique forum for sharing facts, increasing exposure, and discussing solutions to Alzheimer's among Latinos. "The study proves that ...
Everyone deserves an equal chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine. But some communities, like Latinos, don’t have as much access or information about the vaccine or are hesitant to get vaccinated. The Nevada Vaccine Equity Collaborative (NVEC) is working to change that. Co-led by Immunize Nevada and the Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition, the NVEC is working to promote equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Nevada, particularly among vulnerable communities. “I think as we were kind of creating a response, we knew that we weren't just responding to the actual physical effects of COVID. But just misinformation as well, looking at what, you know, why people weren't getting vaccinated and kind of looking at some of those off the wall reasons and thinking, how are ...
