Texas Children, Especially Hispanics, Face Gaps in Wellbeing



Texas children are falling behind the rest of the country in nearly every aspect of child well-being, according to officials at Austin-based Texans Care for Children, a multi-issue, nonpartisan policy organization, Miller-McCune reports. The 76-page report, “A Report on the Bottom Line: Conditions for Children and the Texas of Tomorrow,” drawing upon Census data, demographic forecasts and national and state data sources, finds Texas is on a course for stunning economic failure unless it closes gaps in well-being for the child population, especially Hispanic children. “A sick, uneducated, unskilled work force does not propel a state forward,” Eileen Garcia, CEO of Texans Care for Children, writes in the report’s preface, according to the news report. “The devastating ...

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1 in 5 Americans Lack Usual Source of Medical Care; Hispanics Cite High Costs



Roughly 60 million people—1 in 5 Americans—have no usual source of medical care, such as a family doctor, and Hispanics were more likely to say that high cost is a reason, according to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Most who reported not having a usual source of care said the main reason was because they seldom or never got sick. An analysis of reasons differed in these ways: Hispanics were more likely to say high cost was the main reason why they didn't have a usual source of care (22%), compared to 12% of non-Hispanic groups. Blacks were most likely to report that they didn't have a usual source of care because they seldom or never got sick (69%) as compared to Hispanics (62%) and whites (61%). Asians were most likely to report that ...

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Exploring the Hispanic Paradox on the Texas Border



Many of the longest lives in Texas are lived in what would seem to be the least likely place: along the state’s impoverished border with Mexico, according to a report by the Texas Tribune. Despite conditions that should have the opposite effect — desperately low incomes, a widespread lack of health insurance and poor high school graduation rates — the predominantly Hispanic residents of Hidalgo County live to be 80 years old, two years longer than the U.S. or Texas average. Residents of other Texas border counties live similarly long lives, according to a preliminary county-by-county analysis by the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. It's what's known as the Hispanic paradox. Read more the Texas Tribune's look at this phenomenon here. Or ...

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New Drug Shows Promise Fighting Type of Breast Cancer Seen More in Latinas



One of the more aggressive types is triple negative breast cancer, which is diagnosed most frequently in young women and new mothers, and even more so among black and Hispanic women. Now, two North Texas doctors are making major strides in treating triple negative breast cancer. Their work is so promising, the New England Journal of Medicine is publishing a study about the investigational treatment this month, WFAA-TV reports. Research from the doctors show a drug called iniparib, also called BDI-201, has prolonged the lives of more than 50 percent of the patients who have used the treatment. Watch the entire WFAA-TV news segment here or ...

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The Importance of Mixed-Methods Cancer Disparities Research



Dr. Rena Pasick, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, spoke about mixed methods of cancer health disparities research during a recent speech that was part of the new San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI) and Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC) Distinguished Health Disparities Lecture Series. Dr. Pasick, a well-established population-based cancer control researcher, conducts community- and clinic-based intervention studies to increase the use of and access to breast and cervical cancer screening among ethnically diverse and underserved communities. She also developed a training program to encourage minority students and professionals to pursue doctoral degrees in cancer research. Watch Dr. Pasick's lecture here. The lecture series, coordinated by ...

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Latinas, Get Yourself a Life-Saving Gift This Holiday Season



Latinas, here's a reminder to get yourself a holiday gift that can save your life—your annual mammogram, which can detect breast cancer early, when it's most treatable. Watch a true-to-life public service announcement here or below to see why, despite busy lives and a bustling holiday season, Latinas ages 40 and older should set aside time to take care of their own health and get their mammogram: This PSA is brought to you by Redes En Acción, the national Lation cancer research network, which is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Please tell us what you ...

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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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