Black and Hispanic women newly diagnosed with breast cancer often face delays in care of more than a month, a large study has found, according to a news report. The study, which appears in the February issue of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, found that 62.4% of African-American women and 59.3% of Hispanic women received a diagnosis of stage II or stage III breast cancer compared with 48.9 percent of white women. Delays in treatment were apparent in the new study, as African-American and Hispanic women had higher risks of 30-, 60- and 90-day delays compared to white women. The risk of a 60-day treatment delay was 76% higher among black patients with private insurance than that of white patients with comparable insurance. Hispanics with private insurance had ...
Anyone who has been affected by cancer is invited to take LIVESTRONG's first-of-its-kind Spanish-language survey to further understand how cancer impacts Latinos and gather data that will inform evidence-based programs, resources and tools to improve their lives and close gaps in health disparities. Survey results, expected to be released laster this year, are expected to provide a comprehensive understanding of how Latinos are living with cancer and help LIVESTRONG and the cancer community improve programs and resources to serve them. Community-specific data will also be available for researchers, program planners and others. Please take the Spanish survey ...
One of the more aggressive types is triple negative breast cancer, which is diagnosed most frequently in young women and new mothers, and even more so among black and Hispanic women. Now, two North Texas doctors are making major strides in treating triple negative breast cancer. Their work is so promising, the New England Journal of Medicine is publishing a study about the investigational treatment this month, WFAA-TV reports. Research from the doctors show a drug called iniparib, also called BDI-201, has prolonged the lives of more than 50 percent of the patients who have used the treatment. Watch the entire WFAA-TV news segment here or ...
"Fatalism," a belief that life's events are predetermined, may be one reason why Latinas have some of the lowest cancer screening rates in the U.S., new research suggests. Hispanic women are much more likely than white women to believe that cancer is not preventable, and that death is inevitable in those diagnosed with cancer, the researchers found in the study, scheduled for publication in the online edition of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Researchers identified a statistically significant link between fatalism and reduced use of cancer screening services. Further studies are needed to learn more about this association, the authors noted. "Improving our understanding of the importance of fatalism in explaining underutilization of cancer screening services among ...
While Hispanics have much lower risks of developing melanoma than non-Hispanic whites in California, they develop the disease at younger ages, develop thicker tumors, which are more difficult to treat, and experience a higher percentage of cases among people living in poorer areas, according to a new study. This finding, just published in the journal Cancer by scientists at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC), Stanford University, and the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine, follows a 2009 CPIC finding that melanoma rates are increasing in all racial/ethnic groups nationally, and points to the need for prevention efforts tailored to Hispanics. To examine the importance of socioeconomic status in relation to melanoma incidence and tumor subtype ...
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 ...
Melanoma is on the rise among certain groups of dark-skinned Floridians, new research shows, Reuters reports. The study isn't sure why but does provide an important main message: "Just because you have darker skin pigmentation, whether you're Hispanic or black, does not make you immune to skin cancer," Dr. Robert S. Kirsner of the University of Miami told Reuters Health. Melanoma remains much rarer among blacks and Hispanics than among whites, which helps explain why public health efforts to prevent melanoma chiefly target the light-skinned. In the current study, for example, in 2004 there were about 26 cases of melanoma diagnosed for every 100,000 persons per year among U.S. whites, compared to 4 cases for Hispanics and less than 1 case for non-Hispanic blacks. Nevertheless, ...
People with fair skin, blue eyes and red hair still have the highest risk of skin cancer, but doctors say the number of darker-skinned patients with skin lesions is rising, both under the hot Texas sun and nationally. Dr. Bahar F. Firoz of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio says melanoma is increasing among Hispanic women in particular. “Among Hispanic women of all ages in Texas, melanoma incidence increased 4.8 percent every year from 2002 to 2006. That is a very high rate,” Dr. Firoz said. “In Hispanic women over 50, this incidence is a whopping 10.8 percent. Overall, the incidence of melanoma is increasing in darker-skinned patients.” Dr. Firoz, assistant professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery in the Health Science Center School of ...
