Bilingual Booklet Helps Patients Understand Clinical Trials as Treatment Options



The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's new bilingual booklet, Knowing All Your Treatment Options/Conozca Todas Sus Opciones de Tratamiento, aims to help patients understand clinical trials as one of the treatment choices they may want to consider. There is also a Healthcare Question Guide inside the back cover of the booklet for patients and family members to take with them to their doctor appointments. To access this booklet and others on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Web site, please visit www.LLS.org/freematerials, or you can order hard copies of the booklet by calling 1-800-955-4572 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST. Information specialists can answer general questions about blood cancers and help patients form additional questions to ask their doctor specific to their ...

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Apply for ‘Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training’



Are you a Latino master's student or master's-level professional in Texas? You are invited to apply by Feb. 18, 2011, for Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, a new training program to encourage Latino master’s students and master’s professionals to pursue a doctoral degree in a Latino health disparity research field and/or cancer control research career. Éxito! is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Éxito! consists of: A 5-day Summer Institute in June 2011 that offers teaching, tools and resources Paid Internships (Starting in 2012) Doctoral Application Support Awards (Starting in 2012) Doctoral Biannual Retreats (Starting in 2014) "We believe that Éxito! can increase ethnic diversity in the ...

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VIDEO: Dr. Ramirez Tackles Latino Cancer Challenges at Symposium


Amelie Ramirez

Watch a podcast featuring Dr. Amelie Ramirez! Ramirez is leader of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!. She discusses the cancer challenges and solutions among Hispanics during the 33rd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Dec. 11, 2010. Dr. Ramirez, who also led a panel at the symposium, also talks about the importance of genetic testing for breast cancer among Latinas, as well as statewide and national communications programs. The podcast was done by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). To see more podcasts from the symposium, go ...

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CDC: Too Many Cancers Spotted Too Late (Including Cervical Cancer Among Latinas)



Although screening tests are widely available, many cancers aren't diagnosed until the disease is well-advanced and, therefore, less treatable, a new U.S. government report finds, HealthDay reports. Almost one-half of colorectal cancers and cervical cancers and one-third of breast cancers in the U.S. are detected at a late stage, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report also found that Latinas ages 50-79 have the highest rates of late-stage cervical cancer. Yet, if caught early, these three cancers have very high survival rates. "People need to be aware of what they need to have done medically and follow-up with their providers," said report co-author Dr. Lisa Richardson, associate director for science in CDC's Division of Cancer ...

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Check Out the Latest in Health Disparities Videos, News & Funding



Check out the latest in health disparities—from cancer awareness videos to new Latino training programs—in the latest E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which runs SaludToday. View the IHPR E-newsletter to see these items: Video: Latino cancer research network expands with $5.6M grant (Pg 1) Story: An “Insider” Training Program for Latino Cancer Researchers (Pg 3) PSA Wins Award: WATCH – Latinas & Mammograms (Pg 4) Story: San Antonio Goes Smoke-Free (Pg 5) Story: Lance Armstrong Visits Patients, Latino Cancer Researchers (Pg 8) Find much more on local and national health disparities-related news, funding, resources and events by visiting the IHPR's Web ...

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‘Fatalism’ a Reason Latinas Don’t Get Cancer Screening



"Fatalism," a belief that life's events are predetermined, may be one reason why Latinas have some of the lowest cancer screening rates in the U.S., new research suggests. Hispanic women are much more likely than white women to believe that cancer is not preventable, and that death is inevitable in those diagnosed with cancer, the researchers found in the study, scheduled for publication in the online edition of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Researchers identified a statistically significant link between fatalism and reduced use of cancer screening services. Further studies are needed to learn more about this association, the authors noted. "Improving our understanding of the importance of fatalism in explaining underutilization of cancer screening services among ...

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Latinas Wait Longer for Confirmatory Breast Cancer Diagnosis



White women with private insurance waited an average of 15.9 days between breast cancer testing and confirmatory diagnosis, while privately insured black women waited 27.1 days and Latinas 51.4 days, according to a new study. The study, which involved almost 1,000 women examined for breast cancer, indicates that race/ethnicity plays a larger role than insurance in getting a timely breast cancer diagnosis. For women on Medicare or Medicaid, the wait between testing and diagnosis was 11.9 days for whites, 39.4 days for blacks and 70.8 days for Latinas. Among those without insurance, the wait was 44.5 days for whites compared with 59.7 days for blacks and 66.5 days for ...

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Watch Podcast Videos on Minority Cancer Issues



The highly successful third American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved was held from Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2010, in Miami Beach, FL. The conference was well-received, with more than 500 attendees, 200 presented posters, and several highly meritorious abstracts selected for proffered paper presentations. We encourage you to watch the AACR's short video podcasts that interview these and other health experts: Sanya A. Springfield, Ph.D., NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities; Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Eddie Reed, M.D., University of South Alabama Miller Cancer Center; and Timothy R. Rebbeck, Ph.D., University of ...

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Link Between Environment and Cancer Is Going Mainstream



Presidential advisors, lawmakers and the largest breast cancer research group in the country are all simultaneously broadening their agendas to include prevention, and the link between environment and cancer is going mainstream, the Valley Advocate reports. The report cites a new collaboration between Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest breast cancer group, and the Institute of Medicine, a health policy group, on environmental toxins and breast cancer: "The public is invited to observe our upcoming meeting, which will include presentations from leading breast cancer researchers and organizations," said Dr. Amelie Ramirez [of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio at the start of a Komen-IOM meeting held July 6-8 in San ...

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