By Joan Treviño Lawhon I think women are blessed with a sixth sense. Recently, during a show on breast cancer survivors, several said they knew immediately that something was wrong. I could definitely relate. My basic tests were within normal limits, but I had what I can only describe as a “gut feeling.” I had some very supportive doctors who followed through on my instincts. It took five tests to confirm a malignancy. Within an hour of my diagnosis, I was at Barnes & Noble buying layman’s books on breast cancer. We can freeze and let the disease consume us, or we can fight. My choice was to fight. I was going to make sure my choice was an informed one. My husband Garey had lost his valiant battle to pancreatic cancer the year before. I lost a brother to kidney cancer. ...
Latinas who have an abnormal mammogram result take 33 days longer to reach definitive diagnosis of breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Such a time delay can have a critical impact on tumor size, stage at diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and survival of subsequent breast cancer. For this study, published online in SpringerPlus in March 2013, IHPR researchers worked with partners in the federally funded Redes En Acción program to evaluate the differences in time to diagnosis of breast cancer among 186 Latinas and 74 non-Hispanic whites who received an abnormal mammogram result in six U.S. cities. Analysis showed that Latinas’ ...
Extra support for patients, called “patient navigation,” can lead to faster diagnosis for women after an abnormal mammogram result, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. The study, published this week by the journal Cancer, also suggests that patient navigation should be carefully targeted to have the greatest impact on eventual health outcomes. IHPR researchers worked with partners in the federally funded Redes En Acción program to examine the experiences of 425 Latinas in six cities nationwide. Each woman had received an abnormal result in initial breast cancer screening and was referred for further evaluation. About half of the women received help from trained patient navigators, who provided culturally ...
Many of America's children struggle with obesity. That’s why we're excited to announce that Salud America! has received a two-year, $2.1 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) for its ongoing pursuit of healthy changes to address epidemic of childhood obesity across the nation. Salud America! will expand its 2,000-member network and develop a digital infrastructure to support, inform, and empower healthy changes. This digital infrastructure will create content and communications on research, training, and education on childhood obesity to empower people to start or support healthy changes. Please join the network here. “In the midst of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, we’re extremely pleased that RWJF is supporting our unprecedented ...
Armida Flores was a professional abuela—babysitting her granddaughters, volunteering at their schools, etc.—until they moved to California a few years ago. Then Flores wasn’t sure what to do with her newfound spare time. So the Mexico native, who was 30 years removed from school, didn’t know much English and had no career training, decided to enroll in bilingual nursing classes at Palo Alto College in San Antonio and simultaneously earned her GED in Spanish in 2008. She also took beginner and advanced English to polish her language skills, and in May 2012 earned an associate’s degree in social work, psychology and Spanish. “The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was to accept that I am not too old to start a new process in my life,” said Flores. “Now that I ...
To address the needs of cancer survivors, the LIVESTRONG organization created a cancer survivorship training curriculum to increase the number of community health workers, otherwise known as promotoras, and their skills, knowledge and confidence on the physical, emotional and day-to-day concerns of cancer survivors. To date, LIVESTRONG has trained more than 500 promotores across the country. What exactly is a promotora? Watch this video of Guadalupe Cornejo, a promotora at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, who explains what she does and who she helps. To see more of what a promotora does, watch a video, "A Day in the Life of a Promotora," in English subtitles or ...
Check out this Spanish version of A Patient Navigation Manual to guide health organizations in developing patient navigation services. Get it Spanish or English. The manual first defines patient navigation. Patient navigators are trained health workers who aim to help “navigate” people through the often-complex healthcare system and remove barriers to timely, quality cancer care. It then offers a six-step guide to determine whether navigation is right for a health organization, and highlights important considerations for implementing navigation. The manual also features many robust tools, customizable templates, and other resources for starting up navigation. “We are excited to offer, for free, this guide in both English and Spanish to help health providers and groups ...
