South Texas Study Seeks to Motivate Breast Cancer Survivors to Get Fit



Do encouraging, personalized messages, received on a regular basis, inspire women to exercise after they’ve been treated for breast cancer? To find out, the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio is enrolling Hispanic survivors of breast cancer for a 16-week clinical research exercise study conducted in South Texas' Lower Rio Grande Valley to address this topic. Changed thinking that leads to self-confidence leads to changed behavior—that’s the idea behind the study. The study requires two visits to the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio's Regional Academic Health Center campus in Harlingen to answer questionnaires, do a complete physical fitness assessment and develop each woman’s individualized comprehensive ...

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Growing Number of Hispanics Affected By Diabetes



Diabetes, a disease that is expected to affect 9.9% of the world's adult by 2030, takes an especially heavy toll on U.S. Hispanics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Huffington Post reports. Hispanics have double the risk of developing diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites, according to a CDC a study on diabetes prevalence among Hispanics in California, Florida, Illinois, New York/New Jersey, Texas, and Puerto Rico from 1998 to 2002. The CDC study also found that: Hispanics tend to develop diabetes at a younger age The prevalence of diabetes decreased with higher education levels; among Hispanics with less than a high school education, 11.8% had diabetes, compared to 7% of college graduates Read the full news report. Watch an ...

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Study to See Which Exercise is Best for Breast Cancer Survivors



Breast cancer survivors are invited to join a San Antonio-area study that is testing how different types of exercise—like yoga—best improve cancer survivors’ fitness and quality of life and decreases the risk of recurrence. The project, Improving Mind and Physical ACTivity (IMPACT), is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Over the yearlong IMPACT study, 90 breast cancer survivors will be randomized to participate at least three times a week in: 1) a comprehensive exercise “prescription” featuring an individualized aerobic, strength-training and flexibility program; 2) a yoga exercise program; or 3) general exercise chosen at will. Study recruitment is underway. For eligibility, call 210-593-2669. “We ...

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Depression Affects Preventive Health Screening among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors



Depression, in addition to other barriers, may prevent Latina breast cancer survivors from undergoing preventive health screening for colorectal and ovarian cancer, according to a new study. The study was presented by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, on Sept. 19, 2011, at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Washington D.C. “Depression can make people more inattentive to potential risks to their health and more likely to ignore recommendations to reduce their risk,” Dr. Ramirez said. Because depression is more common among breast cancer patients than the general population and because 10% of all new cancers are diagnosed in cancer ...

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