Webinar 11/12/13: How to Build a Program to Help Latinas Deal with Breast Cancer Issues



Want to know how do you build a program to help Spanish-speaking Latinas deal with mental aspects of breast cancer? Be sure to drop in for our upcoming free webinar on Nov. 12, 2013, that features Dr. Anna María Nápoles, a Latina professor and behavioral epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who will outline the methodological phases involved in creating a new psychosocial health intervention for Latinas with breast cancer. Napoles also will highlight a case study in which community and academic leaders partnered in developing a program, as well as a protocol for a randomized controlled trial to test the program. The webinar, which is at 11 a.m. CST (9 a.m. PST) on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, is hosted by Redes En Acción, a Latino cancer research network funded ...

Read More

Latina Researcher Wins ‘Health Promotion’ Award



Deborah Parra-Medina, Ph.D., a professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, was given the prestigious Mayhew Derryberry Award from the Public Health Education and Health Promotion section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). The award, given annually, recognizes outstanding contribution of behavioral scientists to the field of health education, health promotion and/or health communications research or theory. Parra-Medina has more than two decades of research and interventions in chronic disease prevention with underserved groups, including women, Hispanics, immigrants, youth and financially disadvantaged populations in diverse geographic and community settings. She will be recognized at a lunch ...

Read More

Bilingual Videos: Why Do Latinas Need to Schedule a Mammogram?



Latinas are less likely than others groups to get an annual mammogram, which can help detect breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. This puts them at higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer at advanced stages. So, just in time for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, check out our playlist of videos in English or Spanish that puts an emotional spin on why Latinas should get cancer screening. These public service announcements were developed by researchers at Redes En Acción, a national network dedicated to reducing Latino cancer. Redes is funded by the National Cancer Institute and directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind ...

Read More

Report: Racial/Ethnic Disparities Remain in Breast Cancer Rates



Breast cancer rates increased slightly for African American women, decreased for Latinas, and remained unchanged for white, Asian American, and American Indian/Alaska Native women from 2006-2010, the most recent five-year span of available data, according to a new report by the American Cancer Society (ACS). Overall, breast cancer incidence rates are highest in white women, followed by African American women, while breast cancer death rates are highest for African American women, followed by white women, according to 2013-14 Breast Cancer Facts and Figures, which provides updated cancer research facts about breast cancer, including incidence, mortality, and survival trends for breast cancer, as well as information on early detection, treatment, and factors that influence risk and ...

Read More

Online Workshops Offer Info on Many Cancer Topics



Want to learn more about caring for your bones when you have breast cancer? Have questions about the Affordable Care Act? These topics are just two of the upcoming Connect Education Workshops from CancerCare that bring together leading cancer experts to provide up-to-date information in one-hour educational cancer workshops. Workshops are free. Participants can listen in live over the phone or online as a webcast. Register here. Redes En Acción, the national Latino cancer research network led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, partners with CancerCare to periodically offer free workshops on cancer issues that impact Hispanics. You can also listen to past workshops, such as a Spanish-language workshop on Latinas and ...

Read More

Report: Obesity Rates Level Off; Still Higher in Hispanics, Blacks



While U.S. obesity rates appear to have leveled off, Hispanics and Blacks have strikingly higher obesity rates than their White and Asian peers, Bloomberg reports. The good news is that overall adult obesity is not rising. About one-third of American adults (about 78 million people) are obese, about the same number as across the last decade, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report was led by researcher Dr. Cynthia L. Ogden. But racial/ethnic disparities in obesity rates continue to be alarming. About 43 percent of Hispanics and 48 percent of blacks are obese, compared with 33 percent of whites and 11 percent of Asians, Bloomberg reports. Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director the Salud ...

Read More

Twitter Chat 10/7/13: Why Do Latinas Suffer Worse Breast Cancer Outcomes?



You're invited to join a Twitter Chat with two top researchers who will focus on disparities in breast cancer among minorities. The chat, from 4-5 p.m. central on Oct. 7, 2013, is co-hosted by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). Two researchers will head the event: Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will address breast cancer among Latinas, particularly why they tend to suffer more late-stage disease. Dr. Christopher Li, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is an epidemiologist studying breast cancer outcomes and survivorship. Ask questions and follow live on Twitter using the hashtag #BCDisparities. You also can follow the chat via the ...

Read More

Bilingual Videos: Promoting Prevention, Early Detection of Colorectal and Cervical Cancers in Latinos



To raise the awareness of colorectal and cervical cancers and increase prevention and early detection among Latinos, the University Health System (UHS) in San Antonio, Texas, has produced several public service announcements (PSAs) in both Spanish and English as part of its A Su Salud San Antonio campaign. The PSAs are being aired across the region and are now on the UHS YouTube page. Here is one of the cervical cancer PSAs in English and another in Spanish. Here is one of the colorectal cancer PSAs in English and another in ...

Read More

6 Ways to Reduce Risk of Cervical Cancer



Cervical cancer is most frequently diagnosed in Latinas, and black women tend to have lower 5-year survival rates and die more often than any other race, according to a news report in the Chicago Defender. However, the disease is preventable. Here are six ways the article lists to reduce your cervical cancer risk: 1. Get a regular Pap smear. 2. Follow up on abnormal Pap smears. 3. If you are sexually active, use a condom. 4. Limit the amount of sexual partners you have. 5. Quit smoking or avoid secondhand smoke. 6. Get the HPV vaccine. Regarding the HPV vaccine, according to the article: "Two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, have been approved for use in girls and young women to help prevent cervical cancer. Gardasil immunizes against certain strains of HPV which cause 70% of cervical ...

Read More