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For Dr. Derek Rodriguez, helping survivors is more than part of the job.
It’s a calling that began when he was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer, when he was 8 years old.
Now, Rodriguez is helping others share their survivorship stories through his work with the Avanzando Caminos study, which aims to improve the Latino cancer survivorship journey.
Rodriguez currently serves as the program manager for the study, which is based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.
He is living out his dreams of being a research scientist and helping improve the lives of other survivors in his community.
“I am now serving my community as well as those that are cancer survivors, so it’s pretty much a full circle moment,” he told Salud America!
Now he’s sharing his story with a larger audience.
Derek was recently featured on a KENS 5 news segment where he discussed his own journey as well as the study.
KENS 5 News Segment
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, KENS 5 San Antonio visited with Derek about his personal experience with cancer and how it eventually led him to pursue cancer research.
“Your superhero is your doctor, your oncologist, and so my initial thought is, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go to medical school,’” Derek told KENS 5.
However, fate had other plans for the researcher.
“There’s something deeper when understanding why — why is this happening?”
As someone who always loved research and was fond of asking questions, research was the perfect fit for him.
That’s how he ended up with the Avanzando Caminos Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Cohort Study.
“We’re trying to … understand what the health quality of life post-cancer life would be,” he said.
The study seeks to look at key factors such as biological, social, and mental stressors have on people who have gone through cancer treatment.
Dr. Derek Rodriguez and Avanzando Caminos
At UT Health San Antonio, Derek gets to work up close and personal with cancer survivors like himself through his work with the Avanzando Caminos Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study.
His position allows him to serve not only a community of survivors, but also the South Texas community he calls home.
“It’s a rewarding experience, because I get to not only be able to help a community that is [overlooked], but I get to share my experiences,” Rodriguez said in an interview with Salud America!
The study consists of a series of interviews and a few blood draws to find patterns in the experiences of Hispanic/Latino cancer survivors.
In the end, the data gathered from the study could lead to more resources and interventions that could help future generations of survivors.
“This is going to help us understand and ultimately help individuals in our community have prolonged lives and less conflicts and consequences because no one should ever have to go through a hardship because they had cancer,” Rodriguez told Salud America!
Rodriguez also helps lead the Avanzando Salud Center, under the director of IHPR, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez.
The center focuses on the non-medical drivers of health and advancing cancer prevention, outcomes and survivorship through research, mentoring and community engagement.
Share Your Cancer Journey With Avanzando Caminos
Rodriguez and the Avanzando Caminos team is recruiting 1,500 Hispanic and Latino cancer survivors in South Texas who have completed primary treatment for breast, lung, liver, stomach, colorectal, kidney, prostate, and uterine cervical cancers in the last 10 years.
In addition, cancer survivors must be 18 years old or older to participate.
The study, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, who also leads Salud America!, and the Mays Cancer Center, consists of seven study visits that take place over five years.
Each assessment is made up of interviews accompanied by a few blood draws.
Participants are also eligible to receive $50 per visit.
Visit the Avanzando Caminos website (Español) to fill out a pre-qualification form and member of Ramirez’s and Rodriguez’s team at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio will be in touch. Or contact the team at 210-562-6514 or caminos@uthscsa.edu.
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