Every year an unprecedented number of pregnant women in the US suffer mental hardships. The American Academy of Medicine (AAMC) estimates that 1 in 5 women endure a mental health or substance use disorder during a pregnancy and up to a year after birth. In fact, mental health conditions are one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What’s more, 80% of these deaths are preventable. That’s why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Let’s dive into the hotline, how it helps Latinas and all mothers, and what HHS is doing to get the word out about it.
What is the National Maternal Mental Health ...
Stomach cancer is a fairly uncommon type of cancer.
Yet, every year, 26,000 new cases of stomach cancer are diagnosed in the US, causing the deaths of 11,000 people (42.3%), according to Debbie’s Dream Foundation, a national organization for stomach cancer awareness and fundraising.
For National Stomach Cancer Awareness Month in November, Debbie’s Dream is hosting a Zumbathon fundraiser in San Antonio among other events nationally. Zumbathon Fundraiser
Get ready to sweat for a good cause! The new San Antonio Spurs basketball training facility is about to be decked out in periwinkle for a very special Zumbathon fundraiser.
The fundraiser is set for The Rock at La Cantera, located at 1 Spurs Way in San Antonio, on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT. Check in for the ...
Climate change threatens communities by worsening air quality and increasing chronic disease risk and intensifying deadly storms, droughts, and heat waves. Certain communities – low-income neighborhoods and overlooked people – often suffer most because they suffer from health gaps, are more exposed to climate risks, and have a lower ability to prepare, adapt, and recover from their effects. How vulnerable is your community to climate change? The new U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI), a mapping tool, uses environmental, social, economic, and infrastructure data to help you understand your community’s ability to respond and adapt to climate change. “Better understanding of the intersection of vulnerability and climate change risks is key to effectively building ...
Breast cancer survivors were less likely to meet physical activity guidelines than women without cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. In addition, certain survivors, including Latinas, also had low rates of physical activity. “Low physical activity participation among breast cancer survivors may be related to various clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics,” according to the study. Let’s dive into this research and what it means for Latina breast cancer survivors.
Physical Activity and Survivorship
Setting fitness goals with physical activity is an important part of breast cancer survivorship. “Research shows that getting to and staying at a healthy weight, eating right, and being physically active ...
In a lifetime, four in 10 US adults will be diagnosed with cancer, according to WebMD. Most of these cancers will be found in the breast, prostate, lung, colon, bladder, kidney, skin, and pancreas. Meanwhile, others may receive a rare cancer diagnosis, such as cholangiocarcinoma, which is a rare form of cancer that affects the bile duct. Due to their low incidence, less is known about these rare cancers and there are fewer opportunities available to change that. To learn more about cholangiocarcinoma, the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation is partnering with the MD Anderson Cancer Center to put on the 2024 Houston Cholangiocarcinoma Symposium: A Gathering of Knowledge, Support, and Hope on Dec. 13, 2024.
Cholangiocarcinoma Symposium
The 2024 Houston Cholangiocarcinoma Symposium ...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) provides a multitude of cancer-related resources thought its NCCN Guidelines for Patients. With the guidelines, patients and others can get easy-to-understand information about prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care for nearly every type of cancer. Now these resources are available in Spanish! Let’s dive deeper into these resources and how they can benefit Latinos and their loved ones with cancer.
The Importance of Spanish-Language Resources for Cancer Patients
Many Latinos experience challenges when it comes to accessing healthcare, including finding Spanish-language content. “Language [gaps] in healthcare lead to miscommunication between the medical professional and patient, decrease the ...
Physical activity can have many benefits for cancer survivors, from improving their quality of life to potentially making it less likely that their disease will come back. Yet studies have shown that many cancer survivors struggle to get the recommended levels of physical activity, particularly those affected by health differences. Now, according to the results of a new study, a program in Texas has shown it can get these cancer survivors moving more by supporting them in the communities where they live, and by getting their caregivers to become more active as well. The cancer survivors and caregivers, who were mostly Latino, were participants in a 12-week program called Active Living After Cancer. After completing the program, the percentage of survivors getting recommended ...
In 2024, an estimated 195,300 cancer cases will be diagnosed in U.S. Latinos, according to Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanic/Latino People 2024-2026. This makes it important that cancer treatments work for Latinos. Clinical trials – studies with volunteers that explore ways to find, prevent, and treat diseases, like cancer – are a treatment option that could help people. With clinical trial participation in mind, Dr. Eneida Nemecek and her team at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute created Proyecto Mi Opción, a series of Spanish-language videos that tackle different cancer-related topics. Watch the videos!
The Lack of Latinos in Clinical Trial Research
Latinos face several challenges when it comes to cancer including access to ...
Latinos currently make up 19.5% of the US population. Yet only 7% of physicians are Latino, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). What’s more, only 2% of the 7% are Latina, according to the publication Latina Women in the U.S. Physician Workforce. Having Latinos in medicine is vital to achieve better health outcomes for all patients, including Latinos. This glaring difference can increase instances of mistreatment or negative perceptions, delay preventative care, influence what kind of treatment someone receives, and cause a stronger mistrust of the healthcare system – all of which can disastrously impact Latino health. During Hispanic Heritage Month we are honoring Latino physicians on National Latino Physician Day, Oct. 1, to ...
