By Amy Perez
San Antonio Cancer Survivor Just after my 22nd birthday while putting on tanning lotion, I noticed a hard lump in my chest that I hadn’t noticed before. My mom works at MD Anderson in Houston, so I told her about the lump as soon as I noticed it, and she helped me get an appointment to get the lump checked out. My cancer was far enough along to where there was no waiting for results. They told me before I left the hospital that day that I had cancer. I began chemo right away but my body was resistant to it. At the end of 6 months of chemo my tumor was 10x larger than when I had started. My doctors told me that I was inoperable, which is pretty hard news at just 22. As if having cancer and struggling with treatment wasn’t hard enough, I also had an ...
Latinas who live on the U.S. Southwest border have more surgical infant delivery rates than their peers in the rest of the country. Not only do those who reside on the border experience cesarean section, or C-section, more often, but Latinas have overall higher rates than white women, according to a New Mexico State University study. This was not the case six years ago. Jill McDonald, who serves as the director of the Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research in the College of Health and Social Services at NMSU, told the Santa Fe New Mexican before 2013, Latinas had lower numbers than white women. “Now, Hispanic women are more likely to have a cesarean birth than non-Hispanic white women,” McDonald said. Maternal Disparities Latinas already suffer from ...
Congratulations to Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, on being selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Health Equity Special Interest Group of the Society of Behavioral Medicine! This honor recognizes substantial scholarly contributions to health equity research in behavioral medicine over a career. Ramirez will be formally recognized March 8, 2019, during a Health Equity Special Interest Group gathering at the 40th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Washington, D.C. “I’m very thankful for this award from such a prestigious group as the Society of Behavioral Medicine, which is a recognition of our ongoing work to promote Latino health equity across the nation,” Ramirez ...
Are you getting enough sleep? The United States is facing a sleep crisis. Lack of sleep can contribute to heart attacks, diabetes, and other serious health issues that affect Latinos more, says the CDC. It can also affect mood and memory. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, to tweet about the sleep crisis in the United States, the importance of sleep for disease prevention, and ways to improve sleep for Latino and all people. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “The Sleep Crisis & Latino Health”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, March 5, 2019
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: Diverse Elders (@DiverseElders), The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (@AASMorg),Hamilton Community Health Network ...
People who experience sudden cardiac arrest in largely Latino neighborhoods are less likely to get CPR from bystanders and 40% more likely to die than their peers in largely White neighborhoods, according to a new study. This is bad news for Latinos. Heart disease already is their No. 2 cause of death. The study points to the need for more CPR training in Latino communities. “Survival is low, but prompt delivery of CPR by a lay bystander can significantly improve outcomes,” said Dr. Audrey L. Blewer, lead study author and researcher at the Center for Resuscitation Science at Penn Medicine, said in a press release.
Study Uncovers Grim Cardiac Arrest Disparities
A cardiac arrest is when a person's heart stops pumping blood around their body, and they stop breathing normally. ...
If you are between ages 25 and 49, your risk of getting obesity-related cancer is rising, according to new research by the American Cancer Society. The cancer-obesity threat isn't going away any time soon, either. "The fact that increases were mostly in obesity-related cancers is due to the obesity epidemic, and we would expect that the incidence would increases as this younger population ages," lead researcher Dr. Ahmedin Jemal told U.S. & World News. These findings have big implications for Latinos, who often struggle with weight and cancer already.
Study Findings
In the United States, the rate of obesity more than doubled between 1984 and 2014. To study the link between obesity and cancer among young adults, the American Cancer Society scientists examined data from 25 ...
By Maria Teresa Guzman
San Antonio Cancer Survivor Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday that I first heard the word "Breast Cancer." But the reality is it has already been 3 years since I was all alone spending a Valentine’s Day in the midst of needles and nurses. You see, at 38 years old I started with a sudden stabbing pain in my breast that would not go away. I had it for a month, not really wanting to pay attention to the signals my body was giving me until I felt a lump. It would have been easy to let fear win, but I took the hardest road and picked up the phone to call my doctor. Within two days I had an exam, and a biopsy it was at that moment that the doctor said, “It is Valentine’s Day and I’m sorry you have to spend your day here in pain but I ...
Congratulations to Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, on being named President of the Board of Directors for The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST)! TAMEST is a premier scientific organization that unites the brightest scientists and researchers across Texas. Ramirez, elected to a two-year term, will help supervise all programs and affairs. She also will serve as representative of the organization. “I look forward to helping guide TAMEST's efforts to make Texas a premier destination for world-class research in medicine, engineering, science and technology," Ramirez said. "Together we will work to improve the lives of our citizens and grow the economy." Dr. Ramirez & Her Work to Improve Latino ...
The overall U.S. cancer death rate fell 27% from 1991 to 2016, according to a recent study by the American Cancer Society. Good news, right? Not so fast. The report revealed a disturbing trend: a growing gap in cancer death rates based on wealth. "It was surprising to see that the disparities by socioeconomic status are actually widening," Rebecca Siegel, first author of the study and strategic director of surveillance information at the American Cancer Society, told CNN. "Wealth causes differences in exposure to risk factors and also access to high-quality cancer prevention, early detection and treatment." Cancer is the leading cause of death among U.S. Latinos. They are more likely to receive a cancer diagnoses in later, less curable cancer stages.
The Bad News
This is ...
