Rafael Chavez, a master sergeant at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, was destined to be a Dallas Cowboys fan growing up in Mission, Texas, where Coach Tom Landry was born a legend. He even spent $75 on a Landry football card from the 1960s. Unlike his clean-cut hero Landry, though, Chavez had a blemish – he was a smoker. He started smoking at age 15. He was a regular smoker by 18. Now years later, Chavez decided to start over and quit smoking for good. He’s been smokeless for six months – and he says he feels like he has scored a Super Bowl touchdown. “[It’s like] scoring in the Super Bowl; you’re not doing it for the fans. You’re not doing it for anyone. You’re doing it for yourself because the reason you smoke is for yourself. You have to do it for yourself ...
The team behind SaludToday recently held its first-ever Scientific Summit on Latino childhood obesity. Salud America!, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national research program to prevent obesity among Latino children, united researchers, community leaders and policy-makers from Sept. 9-11, 2009, in San Antonio to discuss the latest advancements and progress in reducing Latino childhood obesity. View the Summit Report. It includes commentary by: Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the U.S.
Lance Armstrong, champion cyclist
Sean Elliott, ex-NBA player, and his wife, Claudia Zapata, health columnist (pictured at left)
Texas Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.
And many more Visit Salud America! ...
Joan Treviño Lawhon of San Antonio had a choice: let breast cancer take over, or fight to survive. "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." She highlighted passages in her books and wrote down questions to ask her doctors. She leaned on her faith and her family when she had to have surgery. Now she is a survivor. "Now if people see me in a low-cut gown, I love hearing them say, 'You don't look like you had cancer,' because they are right. I had cancer. And I thank God for those beautiful ...
From the Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Andrea is a Latino mother who adapted her Mexican culture’s traditional recipes with healthy alternatives to honor her ancestors and show her love. Some of Andrea's quick tips are: Take favorite ethnic recipes and make them healthier without sacrificing taste. Instead of frying beans in lard, you can steam them in a slow cooker.
If you know in your heart that a food isn’t healthy, then avoid feeding it to your child on a regular basis. Watch Andrea's story below. Read more about her story and other mother's stories at the Alliance's new Be Well ...
Many cancer survivors are denied new health coverage or have their coverage revoked at critical times. So the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) is seeking signatures on an online petition that urges Congress to support health care reform that does not deny health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions and ensures that no American should lose their insurance due to changes in health or employment. To sign the online petition, go to LIVESTRONG. Watch the video below to see LIVESTRONG President and CEO Doug Ulman report after delivering 65,000 of the petition signatures thus far to ...
Watch this dramatic video about the obesity epidemic among Latino children. Is it powerful? Are you interested in helping fight the epidemic? Please comment! For more on Latino childhood obesity, visit Salud ...
Watch Dr. Marcia Cruz-Correa, of the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, tell about her cancer research and how cancer screening helps people, especially minorities. Find out more about Dr. Cruz-Correa at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer ...
“Daddy, you smell ugly. You smell like smoke.” These words, spoken by his daughter, helped Vicente Escobedo quit smoking.
Vicente, a 21-year-old, hardworking San Antonio native and father of two daughters, is a resource specialist for the San Antonio Fatherhood Campaign, where he helps mentor young fathers to make healthy, strong families. He began to realize that he was doing something that wasn’t making his own family strong or healthier – he was smoking.
Vicente first tried cigarettes at age 16. By 18, he was smoking two packs a week. But his daughter’s urging and the soaring price of cigarettes led Vincente to stop smoking.
In the 10 months since he has quit, he has seen how young people think smoking cigarettes makes them cool and macho, and he doesn’t want his daughters ...
The SaludToday blog brings you the latest stories, news, research and information on many different aspects of Latino health, including cancer, obesity and culture’s impact on health. This blog will feature news, polls and stories about Latino life and health, from research on Latino health to interventions to boost fitness and prevent obesity among Latino children to unique stories of Latino cancer survivors, and much more. Sign up with us to comment on blog entries and suggest ...
