‘Day of the Dead’ Celebration Provides Inspiration for Healthy Eating



During Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on Nov. 2, Latino families gather to remember relatives who have died and often honor their memory by preparing the relative’s favorite foods. This is an opportunity to celebrate and incorporate traditional, healthy Mexican eating patterns into American diets. Studies show that, as U.S. Latinos become more “Americanized,” eating patterns shift to include more fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages and less fruit. Coupled with less active lifestyles, these new eating patterns can lead to weight gain, obesity and diabetes in adults and children. “Día de los Muertos is an opportunity for families to celebrate their culture and improve their health with more traditional eating patterns,” said Monica Montes, registered dietitian ...

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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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New Speaker Series Focuses on Cancer Health Disparities; Starts Oct. 20



The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and UT San Antonio are teaming up to launch the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI) Distinguished Health Disparities Lecture Series, which will periodically bring some of the top U.S. health disparities experts to San Antonio to offer the latest trends, tools and advancements in the fight against cancer health disparities among the underserved. The series starts Oct. 20 and runs until August 2011. The series will feature speakers who can enhance the knowledge and abilities of local doctors and researchers, who then can apply learned techniques and strategies in their labs, clinics and communities. South Texas residents, particularly Hispanics/Latinos, experience many health disparities—the disproportionately higher incidence and ...

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Latinas Can “Go Red” for Chance to Win a Trip to 11th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards



The American Heart Association’s bilingual heart-health movement for Latinas, Go Red Por Tu Corazón, will be returning to the 11th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards on Nov. 11, 2010, to bring the issue of heart disease – the No. 1 killer of Hispanic women – to center stage. “Too many Hispanic women are still unaware that heart disease is their No. 1 killer. In fact, only one in three are aware of the threat to themselves and their family,” said Dr. Luz Marina Prieto, assistant professor of clinical medicine for the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism for the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. “Go Red Por Tu Corazón provides Hispanic women and their families the tools and resources needed to enjoy good heart health." Univision personality ...

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IHPR Reaches into Community to Raise Cancer Awareness



Reaching into the community to raise cancer awareness is a big priority of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. That's why IHPR researcher Sandra San Miguel and promotora Guadalupe Cornejo worked hard to bring vital health information to more than 350 Latinos on Oct. 1 at the Consulate General of Mexico in San Antonio during Binational Health Week, a series of free health events across the nation to improve Latino health. The pair, representing the IHPR and the Lance Armstrong Foundation's LIVESTRONG campaign, passed out 100 brochres for the LIVESTRONG Survivorcare program, several “What’s Next” booklets and hundreds of yellow LIVESTRONG wristbands. Overall, San Miguel and Cornejo had ...

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Latinos Get Skin Cancer at Younger Ages & Develop More Hard-to-Treat Tumors



While Hispanics have much lower risks of developing melanoma than non-Hispanic whites in California, they develop the disease at younger ages, develop thicker tumors, which are more difficult to treat, and experience a higher percentage of cases among people living in poorer areas, according to a new study. This finding, just published in the journal Cancer by scientists at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC), Stanford University, and the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine, follows a 2009 CPIC finding that melanoma rates are increasing in all racial/ethnic groups nationally, and points to the need for prevention efforts tailored to Hispanics. To examine the importance of socioeconomic status in relation to melanoma incidence and tumor subtype ...

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Lance Armstrong Celebrates Progress Made by Redes En Acción, Others to Reduce Latino Cancer



Cyclist and cancer prevention activist Lance Armstrong visited patients and met with researchers to discuss the Latino cancer burden in San Francisco on Sept. 21 in a visit facilitated in part by Sandra San Miguel, a research instructor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Armstrong met with the researchers of the northwest site of the IHPR's Latino cancer research network, Redes En Acción, including researchers Drs. Eliseo Pérez-Stable and Anna Nápoles and promotora Marynieves Diaz-Mendez. Armstrong called his meeting with Redes researchers "incredible," and lauded the Redes/LIVESTRONG National Promotores Education and Outreach project. The project has identified and trained bilingual ...

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IHPR’s National Latino Cancer Research Network Gets $5.6M to Expand Fight Against Cancer



After a decade of success reducing Latino cancer through research, training and education, locally based Redes En Acción: The National Hispanic/Latino Cancer Research Network has received a new $5.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to bolster and expand its cancer-fighting efforts. Redes En Acción, launched in 2000, is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Redes has regional sites in Miami, New York, San Diego and San Francisco along with its online network of more than 1,800 researchers and advocates from across the U.S. In 10 years, Redes has successfully tested novel interventions to improve access to cancer care and screening. It’s trained the ...

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Do You Have Warning Signs for Gynecologic Cancer?



The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts about Gynecologic Cancer campaign has launched English and Spanish resources to educate the public about the different types of gynecologic cancer, warning signs, etc. Each year in the U.S., 76,500 women are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer (cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancer) and 26,500 die from it. The campaign urges people to: Pay attention to your body and know what is normal for you. Gynecologic cancers have warning signs. When gynecologic cancers are found early, treatment is most effective. If you notice any vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you, or you have any other unexplained signs or symptoms that last for two weeks or longer, see a doctor right away. Get a Pap ...

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