After a decade of success reducing Latino cancer through research, training and education, locally based Redes En Acción: The National Hispanic/Latino Cancer Research Network has received a new $5.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to bolster and expand its cancer-fighting efforts. Redes En Acción, launched in 2000, is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Redes has regional sites in Miami, New York, San Diego and San Francisco along with its online network of more than 1,800 researchers and advocates from across the U.S. In 10 years, Redes has successfully tested novel interventions to improve access to cancer care and screening. It’s trained the ...
Dr. Shari Barkin, a grantee of Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Nework to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children and a Vanderbilt University pediatric researcher, has been awarded a new $12 million NIH project, “Growing Right Onto Wellness (GROW): Changing Early Body Mass Index (BMI).” The seven-year project, which teams Vanderbilt’s Department of Pediatrics with Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation, will bring 600 families to their neighborhood park facilities and provide a curriculum specially designed to fit a variety of ethnic groups. The project was one of four funded through the NIH’s $49.5 million Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research (COPTR) program, which is among the first long-term obesity prevention and treatment ...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts about Gynecologic Cancer campaign has launched English and Spanish resources to educate the public about the different types of gynecologic cancer, warning signs, etc. Each year in the U.S., 76,500 women are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer (cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancer) and 26,500 die from it. The campaign urges people to: Pay attention to your body and know what is normal for you. Gynecologic cancers have warning signs. When gynecologic cancers are found early, treatment is most effective.
If you notice any vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you, or you have any other unexplained signs or symptoms that last for two weeks or longer, see a doctor right away.
Get a Pap ...
Once again, here's more evidence that underscores the importance of breast cancer screening for Latinas: From the Houston Chronicle:
Mexican-American women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a significantly younger age than Caucasian women, a surprising finding from a new study that raises more questions about the recent push to delay routine screening.
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers surveyed women in Hispanic neighborhoods in Harris County and found nearly half of those with the potentially deadly disease were diagnosed before they turned 50, about 10 years earlier than the national average for all women.
"This study shows the need to consider all populations when developing prevention and screening strategies," said Melissa Bondy, an M.D. Anderson ...
The Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge, part of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, is inviting chefs, students, food service professionals, parents and other community members to work together to develop tasty, nutritious, kid-approved foods. The aim is to improve school meals by creating new healthy recipes for school lunch menus. Teams will submit original recipes that meet nutritional requirements in three categories: whole grain foods, dark green and/or orange vegetables, and dry beans and peas (legumes). Submissions must be taste-tested by at least 30 students who participate in the National School Lunch Program. Winners will be determined by a panel of judges and a Popular Choice winner will be selected based on public voting. Winning teams will be invited ...
Congratulations, Houston! A few days ago a large group of minority health coalitions, doctors and elected officials celebrated the third anniversary of Houston’s successful smoking ban urging Houstonians “to see their doctors and put down their cigarettes for good.” “Smoke Free for 3,” a campaign lead by the Hispanic Health Coalition, Asian American Health Coalition, African American Health Coalition, Native American Health Coalition, and Houston Communities for Safe Indoor Air (HCSIA), recognized the City of Houston’s leadership and success in creating more smoke free workplaces and public spaces effective Sept. 1, 2007. However, despite the success in public policies, smoking continues to be a significant personal health issue for many Houstonians, particularly for ...
Check out these health-related events coming up in the San Antonio area: At 5:30 p.m. today (Sept. 8), the community is inivted to attend a discussion panel, Sexting: Educating Youth on Safe Texting, at Girls Inc. of San Antonio, 1209 S. St. Mary’s, an affiliate of the national Girls Inc. organization that delivers programs that help empower local girls ages 6-18 and increase their self-esteem. Panelists include San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. The community also is invited to attend another panel, Health Care Reform and the Cancer Patient, at 10 a.m. Sept. 25, 2010, in Room 3.104 of the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive. The panel, supported by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR), the team behind ...
Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children, which is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is observing National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and encouraging people to join us and get involved. Earlier this year, a resolution was unanimously passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate designating September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, to bring attention to this growing epidemic. Mexican-American children are more likely to be obese or overweight (38%) than children overall (31.9%), putting them at greater risk for chronic disease and shorter lifespans. In repsonse, Salud America! formed in 2008 to increase the number of researchers, ...
Check out these upcoming events focused on childhood obesity issues: Webinars on Obesity
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity is launching a Webinar series on obesity issues from September 15 to December 8, 2010. Southern Obesity Summit
The 4th Annual Southern Obesity Summit, set for September 12-14, 2010, in Atlanta, will launch the Southern Strategy, a new way to connect agencies and community based organizations who are implementing the First Lady's Let's Move goals. National Food Policy Conferences
The 33rd National Food Policy Conference, set for September 22-23, 2010, in Washington, D.C., will focus on nutrition and health and explore issues like food labeling. Obesity Congress
The World Congress 5th Annual Obesity Congress is set for September 28-30, ...
