Algunos meses después de la muerte de su madre, Mary González consulto con su doctor si era necesario hacerse un mamograma, el doctor le dijo que estaba muy joven. Dos años después se encontró un bulto por debajo de su brazo y después de insistirle a su doctor que lo revisará descubrió que tenía cáncer de seno. “Era como una pesadilla. Todas las cosas pasaban muy rápidamente y yo estaba muy aturdida. Se tenían que tomar muchas decisiones en muy poco tiempo. Me aterrorizaba acordarme de mi mamá cuando estaba recibiendo su tratamiento de quimioterapia, la pérdida de su pelo, la náusea y el vómito,” nos cuenta Mary. La lucha contra el cáncer se convirtió en una batalla familiar para la familia González. “Mi esposo y yo nos educamos sobre el cáncer del seno y su ...
Like many breast cancer survivors for Joan Treviño Lawhon her breast cancer detection started with a gut feeling. “My basic tests were within normal limits, but I had what I can only describe as a “gut feeling, “she says. “ I had some very supportive doctors who followed through on my instincts. It took five tests to confirm a malignancy.” As soon as she heard the diagnosis from her doctors and confirmed her “gut” feeling she immediately got into fighting mode. “We can freeze and let the disease consume us, or we can fight. My choice was to fight. I was going to make sure my choice was an informed one. My husband Garey had lost his valiant battle to pancreatic cancer the year before. I lost a brother to kidney cancer. I thought I would face “my cancer” alone.” Her ...
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is launching “Fresh Empire” a hip-hop themed anti-tobacco campaign targeted at Latinos and Blacks. “Unfortunately, the health burdens of tobacco use disproportionately affect minority teens – particularly African American and Hispanic youth,” said Jonca Bull, M.D., the FDA’s Assistant Commissioner for Minority Health in a press release. "The 'Fresh Empire' campaign will help reach teens at a key point in their lives when experimenting with smoking can lead to addiction." The “Fresh Start” campaign will target youth ages 12-17 with interactive content, songs and videos by up and coming hip hop artists. "We know from our research that remaining in control is an important pillar of hip-hop culture. But smoking represents a ...
At age 29 Julie La Fuente Louviere was in perfect shape and training for a triathlon in her native Puerto Rico. “I found a knot near my collarbone, which I believed was nothing, but my husband made me get it checked out. The diagnosis was breast cancer.” La Fuente says. After going through chemotherapy and all the side effects related to it, Julie was cancer free. Four years later and while she was pregnant cancer came back. “But the cancer came back, now in my liver and bones. The doctors recommended termination of my pregnancy because they said it would be easier to treat. For me that was not an option.” On Valentine ’s Day in 1998 Julie gave birth to her second daughter and a few days later she found out from her doctors that she only had two months left to live. ...
A recent study by the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine found Latinos and other minorities spend more time traveling to and waiting for medical care, Fox Health reports. For the study, researchers used a sample of 4,000 people who reported their wait times and the travel time to the clinics. "Unfortunately, there are so many disparities in health care access and health outcomes already identified in our health care system that I don't think these results are necessarily surprising," said Dr. Kristin N. Ray of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who worked on the study. The study found Latino patients spent an average 105 minutes waiting compared to 80 minutes of wait time among Whites non-Hispanics. "We have long known that there are disparities in ...
Meg Reyes, fue diagnosticada con cáncer de seno con apenas 33 años “Solamente requería una tumorectomía”, dice ella, “pero a causa del tamaño de mi tumor mis doctores fueron muy agresivos con mi tratamiento y me removieron 16 ganglios”. Con el apoyo incondicional de sus familiares y amigos Megan sobrevivió el cáncer de seno. Diez años después, Megan es una consejera no-oficial para pacientes recién diagnosticadas con cáncer, ha perdido 150 libras, ha vivido en Alemania e Inglaterra y ha sido madrina de un estudiante de intercambio japonés. El sobrevivir “significa vivir aun después de que algo difícil se cruce en tu camino. No tiene que ser cáncer, puede ser cualquier cosa que hayas sobrevivido y como manejas esas situaciones.” Lee la historia ...
A few months after her mother’s death, Mary Gonzalez asked her doctor, if she should have a mammogram, the doctor said she was too young. Two years after she found a lump under her arm and after insisting to have it checked she found out it was breast cancer. “It was like a bad dream. Things were going way too fast and I was in shock. Too many decisions had to be made in too little time. As I remembered my mother going through chemotherapy, losing her hair, the nausea and vomiting, I was terrified,” Gonzalez said. The fight against breast cancer became a family battle for the Gonzales “My husband and I became very educated on breast cancer and its treatment. We read, asked a lot of questions, and took it one step at a time.” One question that remained unanswered was ...
Although Latinas have lower rates of breast cancer, it is still the leading cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. According to the the Susan G. Komen Foundation, only 64% of Latinas have had a mammogram in the last two years compared to 67% White, non-Hispanic and 66% Black, non-Hispanic. Spread awareness about breast cancer by joining our weekly #SaludTues tweetchat WHAT: #SaludTuesTweetchat: “Breast Cancer: Early Detection Saves Lives”
DATE: Tuesday, October 06, 2015
TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT)
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOSTS: FDA en Espanol (FDAenEspanol,) FDA Women (@FDAWomen) Gobierno USA (@GobiernoUSA) USA Gov (@USAGov) #SaludTues is a weekly Tweetchat about Latino health at 12p CST/1p ET every Tuesday and hosted ...
According to a new study most women in the U.S. sent by their doctors to be tested for BRCA1 and BRCA 2, two genes “that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer” a leading cause of cancer death in Hispanic women, never met with a counselor beforehand, Reuters reports. "There are very clear and consistent guidelines that people should receive genetic counseling before genetic testing for cancer susceptibility," said Dr. Rebecca Sutphen, the study's senior author from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa. Part of the problem, according to researchers is that many doctors are not recommending patients to see a genetic counselor and today there are cheaper and more accessible genetic test options. “Genetic counselors typically explain ...
