For Bea Vasquez, cancer was not something new. Breast cancer took her grandmother away when she was a teenager. Because of her family history and her work with the American Cancer Society, Bea schedule mammograms every September. “In 1998, I was so busy at work that I didn’t get a mammogram until the following March. After a second mammogram and a sonogram, I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” she says. The tumor was very small, so no chemotherapy was required, but to be safe she decided to have radiation. “I know it may sound as if I was really informed, and I was. I was cancer-free, but what I wasn’t free of was fear. Fear of dying and leaving my daughter and mother behind. I gave this and all other worries to the Lord.” Today, Bea enjoys traveling and grows her own ...
Getting a breast cancer diagnosis could be a shocking experience, especially when your doctor confirms your fears and tells you, you have breast cancer. “ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You have breast cancer. We need to set up an appointment with a surgeon as soon as possible.” I asked the doctor to proceed with whatever arrangements would be necessary. I called my husband at work. I could tell by his voice he was in shock. That evening we informed our four children,” Gloria Diaz says. The day after, Gloria, accompanied by her daughter visited her doctor and was given two options: a mastectomy or lumpectomy. “I was scared and confused. A mastectomy meant I would have my entire right breast removed along with a large number of lymph nodes, and if everything came ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
Meg Reyes, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the early age of 33. “I was only required to have a lumpectomy,” she says, “but because of the tumor size my doctors were very aggressive in my treatment and removed 16 lymph nodes,” With the support of her family and co-workers Megan survived breast cancer. 10+ years after, she’s an unofficial counselor for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, she has lost 150 pounds, has lived in Germany and England and has hosted a Japanese exchange student. [Survivorship means]“living life even after something challenging happened in your life experience. It doesn’t have to be cancer, it can be anything that you survived and how you deal with those adverse action,” Reyes said. Read Meg’s full story on Redes en ...
According to the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Hispanic cancer rate is overall lower cancer rates than in non-Hispanics. However, Hispanics have higher instances of cancers associated with infectious agents, such as stomach, liver, and cervical cancer. “Hispanics live longer than non-Hispanic whites and overall have a lower incidence rate of cancer than non-Hispanic whites,” said Dr. Jane Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. “These data need to be looked at as part of the larger picture of the health of Hispanics. To give dire warnings without offering resources for care and treatment is not only irresponsible but it is also unethical.” The research also found that early and comprehensive ...
According to a new report by the American Cancer Society, Latinos are at lesser risk of cancer than non-Hispanic whites, but it’s also a leading cause of death in the Latino community, NPR Health reports. Among the key findings “People of Hispanic origin are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage, when it's more likely to be fatal. That's especially true for melanoma and breast cancer.” Stomach, liver and gallbladder cancers tend to be more common among Latinos, “while breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer are more common among whites.” Country of origin also plays a role. Mexicans and Cubans are at higher risk of death from stomach cancer in the U.S. than other Latinos. “First-generation immigrants have lower cancer rates than Hispanics ...
Compared to the general women population in the U.S. the rate of breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings are low among Latinas. In a new study published in the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, researchers attribute the low rates among Latinas to age and fear of cancer diagnosis. The research was conducted by analyzing and understanding the characteristics of women who did not follow up with phone calls and participation in Esperanza y Vida, a program aimed at addressing the low rates of breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings among Hispanic women. "Participant loss to follow-up represents a potentially important source of bias in research studies," says Deborah Erwin, PhD, Principal Investigator of the study and Director of the Office of ...
