Growing up in Puerto Rico, Tony Rentas dreamed of joining the U.S. military. He wanted to serve his country, set a good example for his son, and make sure his family was taken care of. In 2009, he joined the U.S. Army, making his dream a reality. Tony served as a military intelligence specialist. Over a dozen years, he deployed twice, traveled around the world, made great friends, experienced different cultures, helped people, and provided for his family. Then he got some harrowing news. After suffering a temporal lobe seizure, Tony – a husband and father of two children –was diagnosed with a low grade glioma, a type of cancerous brain tumor, in June 2020. “I remember walking out of that appointment, sitting in the car, just trying to process things. A couple of tears ...
School meals are getting healthier! The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published its final rule to improve school food nutrition standards based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The changes – supported by 438 Salud America! members and 74,000 people overall via public comments – include limiting added sugars (for the first time), reducing sodium, and emphasizing locally sourced fruits and vegetables. The updated rules will take effect starting July 1, 2024, but most changes will occur incrementally between fall 2025 and fall 2027. “The new standards build on the great progress that school meals have made already and address remaining challenges – including reducing sugar in school breakfasts. These updates also make it easier for schools to access ...
This Healthy Vision Month in May, the National Eye Institute (NEI) is looking through a futuristic lens to bring awareness to eye health and share English and Spanish-language resources to protect the sight of your familia.
Eye health and mental health go hand in hand, especially for some Latinos who lack access to eye care.
“Reframe Your Future, aims to reach people with a visual impairment about steps they can take to thrive in their daily life, like seeking vision rehabilitation and mental health services,” according to an NEI news release.
Here is what you should know about taking care of eye health for you and your family. What is Low Vision?
Low vision impairs your ability to see.
It makes it difficult to do day-to-day activities such as reading, driving, or see a screen ...
How often do you think about your brain health? We can maintain our brain health with everything from exercise to quality sleep, but conditions such as brain tumors can affect the brain and disrupt our lives. For Brain Tumor Awareness Month in May, Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio is partnering with the Low Grade Glioma Registry to raise awareness of brain tumors, real people with brain tumors, quality of life, and caregiving among the Latino population. Follow along for a month of amazing content!
7 Things You Should Know About Brain Tumors
About 90,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor every year? For ourselves, our familia, and our comunidad, we should know a few important things about brain tumors so we can help all those impacted by a tumor ...
Often, Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers put the needs of the person they are caring for above their own — neglecting their physical, emotional, and mental health in the process. While seen as a selfless act, when left unchecked, it can lead to depression. That’s why researchers at Texas Tech University are giving informal caregivers caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s and dementia an opportunity to reduce their stress levels by offering free telehealth therapy. As part of the research study, eligible participants will meet once a week for 12-16 sessions with a therapist and fill out questionnaires and surveys before, during, and after therapy. These surveys are spaced out and only take 30 to 45 minutes to complete online, by mail, or over the ...
Calling all budding young public health leaders in The Alamo City!
UT Health San Antonio is giving teens in the 11th and 12th grades the chance to expand their horizons and learn what it truly means to devote yourself to the public health field by hosting a free summer camp.
The camp, which is free to attend and runs from June 17-21, 2024 in San Antonio, opens up the world of public health to students interested in careers like epidemiology, nutrition, researcher, and occupational health and safety.
For a week, teens will dive into the 10 Essential Public Health Services, which make up public health’s core functions; assessment, policy development, and assurance.
Campers will be exposed to some of these aspects through field trips around San Antonio, giving teens an inside look at ...
Cancer is often associated with an aging population, but something is changing in the demographics of cancer survivors — they are younger. There are projected to be 85,980 new cases of cancer in individuals between ages 15 and 39, according to the National Cancer Institute. Decade trends show that this number has been rising an average of 0.3% each year. Even though most young adults and teens with cancer are expected to survive for five years following their diagnosis, researchers are trying to understand why young survivors often face long-term health impacts, such as nerve pain and memory loss. For example, a recent study – using All of Us Research Program data – found that four conditions that affect the brain or nerves were more common in young cancer survivors ...
Nearly one of every two people are Latino in Harris County, Texas, which is home to Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. As the Latino community rises, equitable health, education, and opportunity is critical. That is why two Houston organizations, Children at Risk and Child Health Policy at the Baker Institute, published the 2024 Latino Child Health Initiative Report to examine the state of Latino child health in Precinct 2, one of four precincts in Harris County. The report identified high rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity among Latino children in Houston, as well as challenges to mental health services and kindergarten readiness. Let’s dive into the report and how it reflects the overall US Latino population.
Latino Children and Risk for Diabetes, Obesity
In ...
Carlos Salama’s father helped people every day as a physician. Inspired by what he saw, Salama knew at an early age that he, too, wanted to help others the way his father did. “People were just very, very grateful for what he provided them. I thought, ‘I want to do this,’” Salama said. Salama was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Argentinian parents. Salama’s mother and father first came to the United States in the mid-1960s for his father’s residency after he completed medical school at the University of Buenos Aires. Salama recalls helping his parents and two siblings in the doctor’s office. “I used to go with my father to the office, sometimes on the weekends, and help them. My mother was the office assistant, but I would do it sometimes, and I just ...
