This is part of the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2022 Conference Proceedings," which summarizes findings and discussions of the 2022 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas.
COVID-19 Past, Present and Future
Dr. Carlos Del Rio is Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Global Health, and Epidemiology. He is also Executive Associate Dean of Emory University School of Medicine, and President-Elect of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). The continued presence of COVID Dr. Del Rio began by pointing out that the COVID pandemic is not over, despite gains made over the past year. At the time of his presentation, there were still two million global cases diagnosed daily, and close to 10,000 global ...
This is part of the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2022 Conference Proceedings," which summarizes findings and discussions of the 2022 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas.
Framing Latino Cancer Research and the Census Bureau Data That Enable It
Mr. Robert L. Santos is the Director of the US Census Bureau, the first Latino to serve in that position. Lessons from a vibrant career Director Santos began by sharing wisdom gleaned from 40 years of research, including two ways in which it is important to think differently about research problems. First, researchers tend to emulate the methods and thought processes that they have been taught, but these conventional approaches may become self-propagating, and ...
This is part of the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2022 Conference Proceedings," which summarizes findings and discussions of the 2022 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas.
Effective Latino Cancer Policy Requires Effective Legislative Advocacy
Dr. Jaime Estrada is the Founder and President of Texas Doctors for Social Responsibility, as well as the Founder and Board Chair of the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Foundation. Falling through the cracks: a case study Dr. Jaime Estrada began by sharing a case study of a 35-year-old man from central Texas. This man was uninsured and working in construction when he began having headaches for several weeks. He was diagnosed with a curable brain tumor called ...
This is part of the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2022 Conference Proceedings," which summarizes findings and discussions of the 2022 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas.
Addressing Systemic Inequities and Structural Racism to Advance Health Equity for Latinos
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith is an internal medicine physician, the Associate Dean for Health Equity Research at Yale School of Medicine, and the Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the Cancer Center. Dr. Nunez-Smith served as chair of the Presidential COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, and is one of the nation's foremost experts on disparities in healthcare access. Health Disparities Affecting Marginalized Communities Dr. ...
This is part of the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2022 Conference Proceedings," which summarizes findings and discussions of the 2022 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas.
Healthcare inequity in the Latinx community
The United States healthcare system is rife with systemic inequities affecting the Latinx community, the largest ethnic minority in the country with a population of 60.6 million [Estrada]. Health disparities include higher rates of infant mortality, stroke, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and COVID-19, and are often rooted in systemic racism and unconscious bias. [Webb Hooper, Duma] Latinx patients, especially those who are uncomfortable discussing care in English, are often stereotyped ...
U.S. Latinos face heavier burdens of stomach, liver, and cervical cancers, and worse outcomes for many cancers, than their White peers. But why? Unfortunately, many factors cause these disparities, from poverty and a lack of healthcare access to cultural barriers, acculturation, and genetic heritage. That's why it takes everyone working together to address Latino cancer. To this end, UT Health San Antonio has published a new open-access book, Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: Building Collaboration for Action. The book is a collection of articles based on presentations at the 2nd biennial Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference on Feb. 26-28, 2020, in San Antonio, co-hosted by Mays Cancer Center and the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) ...
We’re all busy with the hustle and bustle of life. It’s tempting to grab fast food or buy ready-to-eat food to avoid cooking after a long day. But choosing those ultra-processed foods may cost you more than the money in your wallet. We already know that processed food is bad for your health, but an August 2022 study in The BMJ suggests that consuming ultra-processed food may increase risk for a serious disease – colorectal cancer. Let’s unpack these study results and what they mean for Latinos.
What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?
Ultra-processed foods – industrial ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat formulations made of little or no whole foods – now contribute 57% of total daily calories consumed by American adults, according to the study. These foods are usually rich ...
HPV-associated throat cancer is on the rise in men. With the typical patient being 50 to 60 years old, Black and Latino men are dying from the disease at higher rates than their white counterparts, regardless of the stage of diagnosis or the type of treatment they receive. These staggering statistics come from a 2022 study published in the Annals of Cancer Epidemiology. Here’s what you need to know about HPV-associated throat cancer, and what you can do to help prevent it.
What Causes HPV-Associated Throat Cancer?
HPV is short for human papillomavirus and is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. There are many types of HPVs, some of which can cause cancer later in life, according to ...
Timothy Leech just celebrated his 40th birthday when he got news that changed his life. Timothy was diagnosed with Stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, in 2014. Doctors told him he had only a short time to live. “I freaked out, for sure. I thought I was going to be gone real quick,” Timothy said. But, today, eight years later, Timothy is a cancer survivor. He credits his wife, Katie Leech, his medical team, and a clinical trial for getting him to where he is today – not entirely cancer-free but “so small that it’s immeasurable.” A clinical trial is a research study that helps researchers learn more to help slow, manage, and treat diseases like cancer. “It was very much like, this [clinical trial] is the last roll of the dice here,” ...