Fighting Against Cancer on Behalf of the Community

February 16, 2009 by Elizabeth Beachy  
Filed under Testimonies

Viviana Alvarezcorrea is Colombian and a lawyer by profession. Before coming to the United States she worked with the community for several years to address issues of concern. She is currently a member of the Self Reliance Foundation’s Advisory Board for Acceso Hispano’s “El Cáncer Nos Afecta a Todos” campaign.

Most recently Viviana has been working with Nueva Vida, a non-profit organization that provides services to Latina women diagnosed with breast, cervical or ovarian cancer in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and surrounding states of Virgina and Maryland.

Viviana has extensive experience in public relations and coordinates many Nueva Vida activities at the community level. She organizes meetings in churches, promotes discussion spaces and interview with mass media, establishes strategic partnerships with doctors, attends health fairs, participates in prevention projects, and visits Latino neighborhoods directly to get the word out about cancer. All of these efforts are focused on increasing awareness of the importance of doing regular self-exams and early detection screening to be able to save more lives.

Viviana told us that there are several factors that put Latina women at greater risk with respect to cancer. Often they are so focused on their work, their children, their husbands and their housework, that they neglect their health. Another contributing factor is the lack of understanding of cancer risk and lack of information about diagnostic measures such as self-exams, mammograms, and pap smears.

“There are several barriers that complicate early detection of cancer within the Latino community. Lack of health insurance, language, legal status, fear of the health systems and shame about talking about one’s own body are some of the principle obstacles,” explains Viviana.

“Despite the fact that cancer can be a mortal disease, without a doubt early detection marks the difference between life and death” Viviana emphasizes.

Through her perseverence and dedication to this difficult but vitally important work, Viviana is an excellent example of a committed Latina women working on behalf of her community.

To learn more about Nueva Vida visit their website at www.nueva-vida.org. To locate organizations like Nueva Vida in other parts of the country, call Acceso Hispano’s hotline at 1-800-473-3003 or send us an email at ayuda@accesohispano.org.