Hispanics, who make up 60 percent of Bexar County’s population and almost 40 percent of Texas’, face special cancer risks.
Minimizing those risks is the subject of a free public lecture to be held at 6 p.m. CST Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011, on the fourth floor of the Grossman Building at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7979 Wurzbach Road.
"In the Hispanic population, we tend to put off prevention because we don't think it's going to happen to us," said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center. "And cancer's one of those things we don't like to talk about."
For instance, Dr. Ramirez said, about 40 percent of Hispanic women do not have yearly ...
This summer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) is focusing attention on the topic of cancer health disparities. The NCI works to reduce the unequal burden of cancer incidence and mortality in our society by supporting research to identify and understand the factors that contribute to disparities. NCI also funds studies to develop and disseminate culturally appropriate interventions. Go here for details on disparities and related research, support, statistics, training opportunities and ...
A community health worker (CHW) helps patients—in San Antonio, that typically means Latino patients—navigate the complex world of cancer care, according to a San Antonio Express-News article about CHWs.
The article focuses on Guadalupe Cornejo, a CHW at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Cornejo is partialy supported through the IHPR's Latino cancer research network, Redes En Acción, via a partnership with LIVESTRONG. Cornejo's job includes answering questions, helping patients make appointments and apply for services and, when necessary, acting as a liaison between patients and the medical system.
“Research has shown that this population is more likely to fall through the cracks when it ...
Epidemiologists predict about 1.6 million new cancer cases and 571,950 cancer deaths in the U.S. in 2011, according to the new Cancer Facts & Figures 2011. Cancer Facts & Figures provides a concise summary of frequently used cancer statistics, including projections of new cancer cases and deaths, general information on leading cancer sites, and information on major cancer risk factors, such as tobacco use, nutrition, and physical activity. This year's special section focuses on cancer disparities, including providing the estimated numbers of premature cancer deaths that occurred in 2007 as a result of socioeconomic disparities. Other highlights from Cancer Facts & Figures 2011 include: Cancers of the lung and bronchus, prostate, and colorectum in men, and cancers of the ...
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, a professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is leading a new project to teach Latina moms and daughters in South Texas about the HPV and cervical cancer, which disproportionately affects Latinas. Conexión, a publication of the San Antonio Express-News, has more:
A new program called Entre Mujeres from the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science center will allow mothers and daughters, ages 11-17, in the lower Rio Grande Valley to come together in a unique setting to educate themselves on HPV and its prevention.
Entre Mujeres will combine community health workers, or “promotoras,” and college students from UT Pan American's Kappa Delta Chi sorority to present educational ...
Check out the latest in health disparities—from San Antonio's push to curb Latino childhood obesity to all aspects of the Latino population boom—in the latest E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. View the IHPR E-newsletter to see: Story: “BFF” Helps Latina Girl Scouts Get Physically Active (Pg 1)
Story: Targeting Moms, Daughters to Encourage Use of HPV Vaccine on Border (Pg 3)
Story and Video: Latest in Latino Cancer Survivorship (Pg 5)
Story: San Antonio’s Big Push to Thwart Latino Child Obesity (Pg 6)
Story: Latino Population Boom: What Does it Mean? (Pg 7) Find much more on local and national health disparities-related news, funding, resources and events by ...
Dr. Elsie M. Taveras, member of the advisory committee of Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children, addresses Latino childhood obesity in an article in the journal Childhood Obesity. Dr. Taveras mentions her research group at Harvard Medical School and their so-called “life course approach to obesity,” which has identified important factors for and disparities in obesity starting in pregnancy and through infancy, early childhood and adolescence. "Latino children are also much less likely to be breast fed, and we know from some some studies that breastfeeding may be protective of overweight," Dr. Taveras said in the article. "Additionally, Latino children are more likely to be introduced to solids early, they are more likely to drink ...
A mentorship program opening in June at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio encourages Latinos to pursue careers studying how cancer/disease affects minorities differently. April 13, 2011, is the extended application deadline for Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. The ideal candidate is a Hispanic or Latino master’s degree-level student or a master’s degree-trained health professional, but all ethnicities are welcome to apply. Go here for more info or to apply. Éxito! consists of: A 5-day Summer Institute in June 2011 that offers teaching, tools and resources
Paid Internships (Starting in 2012)
Doctoral Biannual Retreats (Starting in 2014) The hope is that Èxito! participants will go on to earn doctoral degrees and conduct ...
Nearly half of Hispanic women in a new study who spoke little English expressed much worry about their beast cancers returning, and white and black women expressed far less concern, WedMD reports. Many survivors worry about recurrence, possibly due to communication difficulties, even though the odds of survival for a woman treated for early-stage breast cancer are good. Worry can affect decisions about treatment, screening, symptom reporting and overall quality of life. “Women who had a very optimistic prognosis, based on their cancer stage and node involvement, were often the ones who worried the most,” study leader Dr. Nancy K. Janz, of the University of Michigan, told WebMD. The study is published in the April 1 issue of the journal ...
