Health Confianza wants to help health professionals to address stigma, use plain language with patients, and more in its upcoming virtual health literacy series. The 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 located at UT Health San Antonio. The free course is open to all health professionals, including physicians, nurses, community health workers, social workers and pharmacists. Confianza — A Health Literacy ECHO covers the following topics: Acknowledging perspectives, stigma, creating a shame-free environment, plain language, shared ...
Jewel Ng has always had an interest in studying medicine. However, when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ng started to look at a career in medicine differently. “I think seeing how her oncologist handled things, and just like the general process of dealing with something as difficult as that,” Ng said. That’s why Ng has a goal of not only treating people, but for truly taking care of them. Today, she is pursuing medicine as a second-year student at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and served as a Robert A. Winn clinical investigator intern at UT Health San Antonio’s Institute for Health Promotion Research. “It's completely different to actually and be part of that experience of having to drive them to, like chemotherapy, having ...
Your eye health is important. In fact, when left unchecked, poor eye health can lead to serious complications for your overall health and quality of life. This is especially true for children. One of the biggest threats to eye health is myopia, or nearsightedness, which is a very common eye condition, affecting many children. Here are five facts about Myopia you should be aware of and how to tackle them to make sure your child kicks the school year off on the right foot. You can also donate to help families afford eye exams for their children!
1. Myopia Affects Many Children
Myopia, or nearsightedness, affects 40% of people in the US, according to Cleveland Clinic. However, the condition is rising in school-aged children. Experts anticipate that this will ...
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 ...
“You just keep pushing. You just keep pushing.” That’s something Diego Cano has told himself throughout his life. When he failed a health certification test on the first try. When he struggled to balance work, study, and military service. When he wasn’t sure what direction to pursue. Today, Cano has pushed through many hardships and is following his passion of helping others as a rising second-year medical student at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso and as a Robert A. Winn clinical investigator intern at UT Health San Antonio’s Institute for Health Promotion Research. While he is accomplishing a lot of great things, rarely did it come easily.
Cano’s Early Life and Finding a Passion
Cano grew up in ...
Stomach cancer accounts for about 1.5% of all new cancers diagnosed in the US each year, and Latinos have a high risk, according to the American Cancer Society. With this in mind, it’s important for communities to learn about stomach cancer risk and have resources and tools to support themselves or loved ones experiencing this issue. To raise awareness about stomach cancer, Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer will host the first-ever Gut Check for Stomach Cancer 5K Run & 1 Mile Walk from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 at Greenline Park in San Antonio, Texas. The event will include activities, such as health and wellness booths, local medical resources, a DJ and music, youth dance teams, face painting, and more. Register here for the ...
On July 11, 2025, researchers and community members joined together for the first Pancreatic Cancer Retreat to explore the impact of this disease in South Texas. The retreat, at UT Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, was a collaboration among the community outreach and engagement team (COE) and the community advisory board (CAB) at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, and the Canopy Cancer Collective, a nonprofit focused on pancreatic cancer. At the event, clinicians, researchers, patient liaisons, and industry leaders had collaborative discussions on topics including clinical trials, tumor boards, biobanks, educational resources, and screening initiatives on pancreatic cancer. Event participants from Mays Cancer Center included Dr. Lei Zheng, director, and Mary Jimenez, ...
Born in Los Angeles to a Guatemalan mother and Mexican father, Josue Diaz-Melendez grew up in a vibrant Latino neighborhood, shaped by heritage and community. From a young age, Diaz-Melendez had a clear mission—to help his people and all people. That drive led him to pursue dentistry, where he could help people achieve healthier smiles. But he soon saw a chance to transform lives beyond the dentist’s chair.
Making a Switch
Diaz-Melendez worked hard to earn his bachelor’s in biology at the University of Southern California (USC) and later his doctorate in dental surgery at Columbia University. He moved to Philadelphia and began working as a dentist at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, fulfilling his goal of helping people. However, as Diaz-Melendez ...
A recent study from the University of Michigan found that extended family members, such as siblings, cousins and grandparents, are the most influential mentors for Latino emerging adults and can simultaneously empower and constrain young people's efforts to create social change. “It is essential to understand how adults can partner with youth to create social change,” the study states. Let’s dig deeper into this study and what the results mean for families and communities.
The Impact of Extended Family
“Our research reveals that adults play complex, multifaceted roles in these young people’s civic development,” said Wendy de los Reyes, U-M postdoctoral research fellow in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology.” For the study, de los Reyes and her ...
