News of a cancer diagnosis is the last thing anyone wants to hear. It can be especially devastating for a teenager with no family history of cancer. That was reality for Amber Lopez. Lopez, a San Antonio resident who began experiencing symptoms around age 14, was eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer a few years later at 18. “When you hear that word cancer, you’re kind of like, 'Oh, my God. OK. So, does that mean like, I’m going to pass away? How does this work?'” Lopez said. Since her diagnosis, Lopez has overcome many challenges in her cancer journey. Now she’s sharing her story through the Avanzando Caminos study at UT Health San Antonio to give hope to other Latino cancer survivors.
Navigating Her Cancer Diagnosis
Latinas ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, joined The Washington Post's live show to share how cancer screening can help patients get diagnosed and treated earlier The show, "Chasing Cancer: The Path Forward," sponsored by AstraZeneca, took place Nov. 8, 2023. In the first part of of the show, Renee Wegrzyn, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), and Eric Topol, executive vice president of Scripps Research, discussed how technological advancements and AI are changing how cancer is diagnosed and treated. In the second part of the show, Ramirez teamed with Dr. Gladys I. Rodriguez, a medical oncologist with the START Center for Cancer Care, to discuss innovative initiatives make it easier to access early screenings, ...
“It was kind of a fluke.” That’s how Angelina Vazquez Felsing describes the events that led to her diagnosis of lung cancer. Like many, Vazquez Felsing maintained a healthy lifestyle. She didn’t smoke. She ate healthy, ran regularly, and had no family history of cancer. Vazquez Felsing, who immigrated from Mazatlán, Mexico, in 1972, grew up in the Floresville area and has lived in San Antonio for many years. It all started when Vazquez Felsing went to her yearly checkup through the wellness program at her job, where she has worked as a systems analyst for 17 years. “They found something that was a little bit odd. They said, ‘Well come back in a year, and we'll do another CT scan,’” she said. “And when I went back, they found that whatever ...
We’re seeking a communications specialist to join our communication team at Salud America!, our national Latino health equity organization based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. The position will write, edit, and communicate health content and messages. This includes digital content curation for the Salud America! program, as well as assisting in the production of numerous IHPR internal and external communication vehicles, such as newsletters, email blasts, presentations, websites, social media, press releases and more. "The ideal candidate will identify, create, edit, and publish digital and multimedia content to drive awareness and action around health equity," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the IHPR and Salud ...
A big challenge for cancer survivors is a disruption in "cognitive functioning." Stress can contribute to lapses in attention, memory, and other mental abilities that can limit a survivor's daily activities and ability to work. To help, researchers from UT Health San Antonio and UT San Antonio will test a 6-month therapeutic Yoga program — along with supportive text messages and dietary guidance — to improve cognitive functioning in 35 Latina and 35 non-Latina breast cancer survivors. The pilot project, "Surviving is Not Enough: Enhancing Cognitive Function in Cancer Survivors through Movement and Introspection," is led by Dr. Daniel Carlos Hughes, a researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, and Dr. Joseph Houpt, professor of ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, explores milestones and remaining challenges in Latino health promotion in a new commentary in the journal Health Promotion Practice. The commentary covers patient navigation, social media communication, clinical trial diversity, and more. "We need to listen to and understand our diverse Latino communities so that we can create more effective strategies for building public trust and communicating science," Ramirez writes in the new commentary. "The voice and language of Latinos should be omnipresent in the planning of research and risk-reduction programs, which must maintain a focus on age-appropriateness and linguistic and cultural competency. Reaching Latinos where they are, via social media and smartphones, ...
Dr. Denice Cora-Bramble loves children. From an early age, she knew that she wanted to be a pediatrician. Her professional child-focused journey has culminated a long and successful career at Children’s National Hospital where she currently serves as the inaugural chief diversity officer. “I’ve always been intrigued by children,” Dr. Cora-Bramble said with a contagious smile. "They're interesting little people.” Growing up in Puerto Rico, Dr. Cora-Bramble was introduced to medicine as a child. Her aunt, who she admired greatly, was an OBGYN and one of just five females in her medical school cohort. “She was also a mother of five,” Dr. Cora-Bramble said. “I admired how she managed being a mother and being a physician; she was a great inspiration for me ...
Are you passionate about public health? The Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio — home to the Salud America! program — is seeking a qualified senior research scientist with expertise in public health research. The position will focus on two IHPR projects: Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study
Avanzando Equidad de Salud: Latino Cancer Health Equity Research Center Apply here for the senior research scientist position. “Our goal is to find a passionate research scientist who can help us plan, coordinate, analyze, and produce scientific content for clinical and regulatory documents on these two important research projects,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the IHPR and chair of ...
Gabriela Mistral, born as Lucila Godoy Alcayaga in Chile, was the first Latina author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945. Her poems explore deeply cultural issues of spirituality, heartbreak, death, and childhood. But beyond her verse and prose, Mistral also changed lives in Latin America and beyond through advocacy, education, and diplomacy. “She tried to speak for [the disadvantaged] through her poetry, her many newspaper articles, her letters, and her talks and actions as Chilean representative in international organizations,” according to the Poetry Foundation. “Above all, she was concerned about the future of Latin America and its peoples and cultures, particularly those of the native groups.”
Gabriela Mistral – Her Early Life
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