The Devastating Cost of Cancer in Latinos



This year, over 2 million American will get a cancer diagnosis, including many Latinos. As one of the leading causes of death in Latinos in the U.S., one in five men and one in seven women who are Latino will die from the disease. Cancer also takes a heavy financial toll on patients, whose survival is dependent upon a variety of factors, including access to quality, often costly, healthcare treatments. Let’s explore the cost burden of cancer, and what to do about it. The Cost Burden of Cancer In 2018, patients and their families paid $5.6 billion out of pocket for cancer treatments, such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy drugs, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Americans spent a total of $183 billion on cancer-related healthcare in 2015 - an amount ...

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Study: Severe Obesity Rates in Low-Income Latino Children Are Rising



Latino children accounted for the highest increase in severe obesity among preschool-aged children from low-income households, a new CDC study found. The study examined children aged 2 to 4 under the enrollment of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which is a federal nutrition assistance program aimed at providing healthy foods for low-income women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum, and children up to 5 years old, from 2010 to 2020. When the study began in 2010, 2.1% of children aged 2 to 4 in WIC were severely obese. A downward trend in severe obesity occurred for the next several years, when rates in that age group went from 2.1% in 2010 to 1.8% in 2016, the CDC study found. However, by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that number spiked back up to 2% in ...

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Salud America! Team Member Wins Hackathon on Cancer Data!


Edgar Munoz of IHPR Salud America UT Health San Antonio Hackathon cancer data

Edgar Muñoz, a statistician at Salud America! at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio, has won the Hackathon at VCU Massey Cancer Center's first-ever Catchment Area Data Conference on Dec. 7-9, 2023! The conference brought together data experts from U.S. cancer centers. Attendees shared best practices in data collection, handling, dissemination, and utilization, while exploring policies and methodologies to advance cancer center catchment area analytics and community engagement. For the Hackathon, Muñoz showcased the CancerClarity app (try it here) with his teammates, Alex VanHelene of Rhode Island Hospital and Nuen Tsang Yang of UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. The CancerClarity app offers users an interactive exploration of ...

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What Is Thirdhand Smoke? How Can You Protect Against It?



Many know of the harms and health risks of smoking and secondhand smoke.   However, you may not have heard of thirdhand smoke, which is the chemical pollutants that linger and settle indoors after tobacco is smoked.   “The chemicals in thirdhand smoke include nicotine as well as cancer-causing substances such as formaldehyde, naphthalene and others,” according to the Mayo Clinic.  Policy gaps are failing to protect the public from thirdhand smoke, according to a recent study.  The study suggests that policies safeguard against thirdhand smoke even as they protect against secondhand smoke exposure by prohibiting indoor smoking in public places.  “While these measures have been instrumental in protecting public health, saving lives, and reducing health care ...

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Apply Now for Genentech’s Health Equity Innovation Funding



Everyone deserves health equity – a fair, just opportunity to be their healthiest. But the reality of U.S. healthcare is that people of color, including Latinos, face higher risk for life-threatening diseases than their white peers due to systemic inequities in education, housing, food, healthcare, and more. While these inequities threaten health outcomes, efforts are rising to close the gaps. Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, along with The Genentech Foundation, has been on the front lines of the health equity crisis, advocating for equitable treatment and representation for the last several years. This includes the company’s multimillion-dollar Health Equity Innovation Fund. Launched in 2019, the Health Equity Innovation Fund has given grantees the funds to address key ...

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What Would Happen If More People Got Cancer Screenings?



Cancer screening can help catch cancer early when it is more treatable. But participation in screening is sporadic at best, especially among Latinos.  What would happen if more people got screened for cancer?  To find out, a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers used computer modeling to estimate the number of deaths that could be prevented, and the harms caused, if more people followed recommended cancer screening guidelines.  Let’s explore what they found and what it means for Latino cancer.  The Impact of More Screening: Potential Lives Saved  Cancer screenings can catch early cases of lung, colorectal, cervical, and breast cancers.  But only 13% of people eligible are up to date for lung cancer screening; 69% for colorectal cancer screening; 73% for cervical ...

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Free Program Seeks to Ease Stress, Promote Heart Health in San Antonio



The way into a person’s heart is through their mind — at least that’s the case in the “A Mindful Heart: Stress Management for Individuals with Hypertension” program. Program leader Dr. Stacy Ogbeide of the Department of Family & Community Medicine at UT Health San Antonio is taking a psychological approach to address hypertension, which is a key risk factor for many heart diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Ogbeide is looking for adults with high blood pressure living in San Antonio to participate in a free program that focuses on stress management intervention in a group setting, which can include education, arousal reduction, such as relaxation training, and behavioral skills training, like coping strategies. “The group format has been recommended when ...

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Study: Latinos Suffered Big Losses in Health Coverage, Care Amid COVID-19



Racial/ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage and healthcare access worsened during the pandemic, according to a new study in the journal Geospatial Health.  The study found Latinos and African Americans were the most affected populations.     “Our results suggest that loss of insurance coverage and reduced access to health services deepened inequities in an already uneven healthcare landscape, particularly for African American and Hispanic/Latino populations,” according to the study researchers.  Let’s dive into what the data found and what this means for Latinos.   How Did COVID-19 Impact Healthcare for Latinos?  Study researchers – from CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public ...

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San Antonio: Apply for Money to Help Translate Science to Benefit Public Health



The Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) at UT Health San Antonio and the UTSA College for Health, Community, and Policy (HCaP) are now accepting proposals for one-year Community Engagement Small Project Grants.  The grants, which are worth up to $5,000, are given in hopes of promoting, developing, and expanding community and scholarly research partnerships aimed at turning science into clinical reality.  Funds awarded can be used for community-engaged research or assessment, education or training, and the distribution of research results, project details, or policy implications.  “The goals of community engagement are to build trust, discover new resources and allies, create better communication, and improve overall health outcomes as successful ...

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