A lot of the time a cancer survivor’s story goes: “I felt a lump in my breast, I got it checked out, and it was breast cancer.”
That’s not the story of Deb Blake-Ontiveros.
The single mother visited a doctor after she felt a lump in her breast. But her doctor dismissed it as something else.
Two years passed before Deb was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“If we go back in time ... and I would have been maybe a little bit less distracted with the baby and more like, ‘Hey, I think I would like further screening’ that could have been the change there. But that's the reality, though,” Deb told Salud America!
That reality is that some women with breast cancer, especially young Latinas whose symptoms often go ignored or misdiagnosed, never get to ring the bell.
For Deb, ...
When Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez founded the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio in 2006, she envisioned it as a place to cultivate innovative health research and the next generation of population health leaders. 20 years later, past members of the IHPR’s team have gone on to achieve ground-breaking research, training, and other big accomplishments. Here are just a few folks we are so proud of!
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina: From Cancer Researcher to Research Leader
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina served as a professor at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio from 2008 to 2016. At the IHPR, Parra-Medina led several theory-based, culturally competent research projects to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and encourage healthy habits in ...
Over the past 20 years, the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio has worked to improve health in South Texas and beyond. The IHPR, under the leadership of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, built the nation’s first digital health communications program on Latino health, saved lives with culturally relevant patient navigation for women, helped people quit smoking, and more. For its 20th anniversary on Oct. 1, 2026, let’s celebrate some of our biggest milestones! Read our new booklet!
IHPR Creates the Salud America! National Digital Communications Program
Just a year into its existence, the IHPR team created the Salud America! program. The program, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2007, became the first national digital ...
Become a politician? Work in a health ministry? As a young girl growing up in Colombia, Dr. Marcela Mazo Canola wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to be — but she dreamed of making a difference for people. Today, Mazo Canola is helping others as a breast medical oncologist at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio and contributing to research to improve cancer and health outcomes for Latinos and all populations. “Although I’m in a different career that I love very much, I guess I still ended up doing something similar to what I was dreaming of when I was a little girl,” she said. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Salud America! is highlighting heroes in healthcare and throughout the community who strive to make a difference. Let’s take closer look into Dr. ...
On Oct. 1, 2006, the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) was launched. This week, on Oct. 1, 2026, the IHPR will celebrate its 20th anniversary as part of the Department of Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, under the leadership of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez. In the past two decades, the IHPR team has worked tirelessly to achieve its mission to improve the health of Latinos and all people through research, outreach, and action in South Texas and across the United States. But how did it start? Who started it? Why was it needed? Let’s answer those questions and more!
The Need for the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR)
On April 17, 2006, the Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas released a report, Code ...
“Para bailar La Bamba se necesita una poca de gracia.” There’s a strong chance you’ve heard this song, “La Bamba,” on the radio, on TV, walking through the grocery store, or somewhere else at least once in your life. While there are several different versions of this song, one of the most well-known was recorded by Ritchie Valens, a rock ‘n’ roll icon who had a short but impactful career. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Salud America! is celebrating Latino trailblazers, historical figures, and inspirational stories. This year we are highlighting the career and contributions of Ritchie Valens, a Mexican American singer and songwriter who blazed a trail for rock musicians for decades to come.
Ritchie Valens: Early Life Before Fame
Richard Steven Valenzuela ...
For Claudia Perez-Favela, cancer has always been the elephant in the room. Claudia has seen her Latino family members endure cancer and even perish from the disease over the years. Yet they never openly shared their experiences. “In my family, cancer is like the flu,” she said. Because cancer is such a taboo subject in her family, when Claudia got cervical cancer from the HPV virus, she couldn’t turn to her family for support. “They are gonna say ... I got cancer because I did something wrong ... we don’t talk about cancer,” she said. Instead of staying silent, Claudia shook off the stigma behind her diagnosis and started to share her story and challenge the harmful falsehoods behind HPV so women like her can stay informed against ...
We appreciate the doctors who take care of us and our familias. National Women in Medicine Day, which on Sept. 17 during Hispanic Heritage Month, aims to recognize, celebrate, and amplify the women who are making a difference across medicine and healthcare. We at Salud America! are excited to observe National Women in Medicine Day by highlighting seven of our favorite Latina physicians and health leaders!
1. Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez is an internationally recognized health researcher at UT Health San Antonio. Here, she is professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. She also is associate director of cancer outreach and engagement at the Mays ...
Our life experiences can shape who we are and what we strive to be in the future. This can certainly be said about Dr. Antonia Novello, the first woman and Latina to be appointed as Surgeon General in the United States. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Salud America! is celebrating Latino trailblazers, historical figures, and inspirational stories. This year we are recognizing Dr. Antonia Novello, a physician and public health administrator with a strong legacy for promoting health for all.
What Was Early Life Like for Antonia Novello?
Antonia Novello was born Antonia Coello in 1944 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As the eldest of 3 siblings, Novello experienced health challenges early in her life. “As a child, Novello ...
