Like many Latino students, Donají Stelzig was unsure if she should pursue a PhD. She was intimated by the barriers and didn’t think she was capable of doing it, especially since she already had a full-time job and family. But after attending the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training at UT Health San Antonio, the researchers and scholars she met encouraged her to apply and followed up with her even when she was doubtful. Now, Stelzig has a doctoral degree and is a visiting assistant professor and lecturer at the University of Houston, where she also directs the Community Health Worker Training Center at the Honors College. She’s grateful for the Éxito! experience and how it helped her build a network to succeed throughout her career.
Learning About ...
Medicine, radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery are common ways to treat breast cancer. Researchers are also exploring new, possibly better treatments and procedures in breast cancer clinical trials, which are carefully controlled research studies. In some cases, clinical trials may be the only way to get access to newer treatments. If you have breast cancer, you can find a new option for treatment by volunteering for the Evaluation of Cryotherapy and TRPA1 Receptors in Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to freeze and kill cancer cells and control pain. The trial, for women ages 18 and older, including Latinas, aims to better treat women who are suffering at the hands of breast cancer. “It’s ...
The link between systemic racism and health inequities is undeniable. Health inequities among people of color arise from systemic racism, which has been and continues to be enforced by historic and present-day policies, laws, and practices at the local, state, and national levels. For example, past and present land use and transportation decisions perpetuate residential and school segregation which concentrates racial disadvantage and limits access to opportunity to stay healthy and thrive. Thus, local jurisdictions across the country are recognizing and addressing systemic racism through formal resolutions declaring racism a public health crisis. Through these resolutions, jurisdictions are committing to action to address underlying beliefs that fuel racism, transform ...
Did you know that every 65 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease? This number is most troubling for Latinos and women. Latinos overall are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their White peers. Two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women. Latinas are at higher risk than non-Latinas. In response, the federal government created a website, Alzheimers.gov, for dementia information, resources, and clinical trials. Now that website is also in Spanish at Alzheimers.gov/es! Each website has: Information about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
Knowledge and resources for caregivers and people living with dementia.
Clinical trials and studies that people can join to help advance ...
On Oct. 29, 2021, the FDA authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for children ages 5 to 11. It had previously been approved for those ages 12 and older. The move will make the vaccine available to 28 million children in this age group. Getting children vaccinated is vital for controlling the spread of the pandemic, especially as many schools have returned to in-person learning. Do you have questions about the Pfizer vaccine and want to know more before your children get vaccinated? Here’s what Latino parents should know. Update 1/19/22: Greater than COVID shared new videos in English and Spanish featuring doctors answering questions about the COVID-19 vaccines for kids 5-11.
Is the vaccine safe for children? Why was it produced so ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez’s Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program at UT Health San Antonio has been named a winner of Excelencia in Education’s “Examples of Excelencia.” The awards spotlight evidence-based programs that support Latino students in higher education. Éxito! was a finalist in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Excelencia in Education, a national group that promotes Latinos in higher education, announced the winning “Examples of Excelencia” on Oct. 28, 2021, in four categories—associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and community-based organizations. Watch the announcement. Éxito! won in the graduate category. "The four stand out programs are models of culturally responsive, asset-based efforts with evidence of effectiveness in recruiting, ...
The Rutgers Community Health Justice Lab is inviting Latinos to complete this brief anonymous survey to understand the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on Latino health. The survey, which takes 45 minutes to complete, is available in Spanish and English. You can also enter a raffle for one of five $100 gift cards. "Understanding how Hispanics and Latinos have been impacted by the COVID pandemic is critical to guide efforts in reducing health inequity," according to survey creators Pamela Valera and Humberto Baquerizo and their team at Rutgers University.
Why Latinos Should Participate in this COVID-19 Survey?
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the Latino community. COVID-19 pandemic is worsening historical inequities among racial/ethnic minorities. “This is robbing ...
The term “infectious disease” covers a wide range of harmful illnesses. Influenza, chickenpox, and COVID-19 are some infectious diseases caused by germs or viruses that sicken people and can spread to others. Latinos face a heavier burden than their peers for several infectious diseases, from HIV/AIDS to coronavirus to tuberculosis. Fortunately, we can each do our part to prevent infectious disease — including learning more about them. “Infectious disease may be an unavoidable fact of life, but there are many strategies available to help us protect ourselves from infection and to treat a disease once it has developed,” according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
What is Infectious Disease?
The kinds of organisms that can transmit infectious ...
Latinas have lower rates of breast cancer than other groups. Sounds like good news, right? The bad news is that the Latina breast cancer rate has been rising over the past decade, and breast cancer is still the top cause of death for Latinas. Fortunately, we have clinical trials. Clinical trials are studies to find more effective treatments, which can help current cancer patients, and better understand cancer to help future Latino survivors. You can help the cause by volunteering for the Partial Irradiation and Sequential vs. Concurrent Chemo Early Breast Cancer Clinical Trial at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. The trial, for women ages 18-100, including Latinas, aims to protect women against severe cases of breast cancer. “We need Latina volunteers for ...
