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Cancer Affects Everyone

Breast Cancer

Latinos Twice as Likely to be Food Insecure

Latinos and blacks in California more likely to die of H1N1 than whites

A Clear Message Regarding Colorectal Cancer: Prevention is Key

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Cancer Affects Everyone

Self Reliance Foundation’s Acceso Hispano Initiative has designed the El Cáncer Nos Afecta a Todos (Cancer Affects Everyone) campaign, specifically for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The campaign focuses on breast and colorectal cancer and consists of a combined “in the air” and “on the ground” outreach approach to improve Latino access to cancer prevention and early detection services and to work to eliminate barriers to prevention and screening. This educational communications campaign will span five years, from 2009 to 2013, and include the development of an innovative scalable and cost-effective model for changing Latino attitudes and behaviors about cancer prevention awareness; forge a stronger link between community health service providers and Spanish-speaking Americans; increase U.S. Latino educational fluency about cancer prevention and early detection, and ultimately result in an increase in the number of Latinos being tested for cancer.

As part of this national campaign, Acceso Hispano, and initiative of Self Reliance Foundation is launching a 5-week pilot campaign (El Cancer Nos Afecta A Todos) in the Denver metropolitan area on November 16, 2009 to inform and educate Spanish-dominant Latino’s about Colorectal cancer, prevention and early detection through a Spanish-language mass-media and community outreach activities in partnership with the Colorado Colorectal Screening Program, Consulado Mexicano de Denver, AVANCE Supermarkets, and the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We are reaching the Latino audience through print, radio and television media along with workshops at community based churches. Members of the community who are uninsured and are interested in connecting with a primary health provider and learn if they are eligible for a colonoscopy at no cost to them are encouraged to contact us via telephone or email.

To find out more about the community centers that work in partnership with the Colorado Colorectal Screening Program (CCSP) in your area visit our recursos page and type in your zipcode and the keyword ECNAT (El Cancer Nos Afecta a Todos – Cancer affects everyone).  More information is also available by calling our hotline 1-800-473-3003 or by email info@accesohispano.org.

Breast Cancer

 (breastcancer.org) Breast cancer symptoms vary widely — from lumps to swelling to skin changes — and many breast cancers have no obvious symptoms at all. Symptoms that are similar to those of breast cancer may be the result of non-cancerous conditions like infection or a cyst.

Breast self-exam should be part of your monthly health care routine, and you should visit your doctor if you experience breast changes. If you’re over 40 or at a high risk for the disease, you should also have an annual mammogram and physical exam by a doctor. The earlier breast cancer is found and diagnosed, the better your chances of beating it.

The actual process of diagnosis can take weeks and involve many different kinds of tests. Waiting for results can feel like a lifetime. The uncertainty stinks. But once you understand your own unique “big picture,” you can make better decisions. You and your doctors can formulate a treatment plan tailored just for you.

In the following pages of the Symptoms and Diagnosis section, you can learn about:

Understanding Breast Cancer
How breast cancer happens, how it progresses, the stages, and a look at risk factors.

Screening and Testing
The tests used for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring, including mammograms, ultrasound, MRI, CAT scans, PET scans, and more.

Types of Breast Cancer
The different types of breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), inflammatory breast cancer, male breast cancer, recurrent breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer, and more.

Your Diagnosis
The characteristics of the cancer that might affect your treatment plan, including size, stage, lymph node status, hormone receptor status, and more.

Your Pathology Report
A detailed, step-by-step explanation of what your pathology report says and how this might affect your treatment options.

 

 To read the complete article click here

Source: www.breastcancer.org

Latinos Twice as Likely to be Food Insecure

This document is taken from the President and CEO of NCLR, Janet Murguia’s presentation to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry on The Effect of Food Insecurity in the Latino Community.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Hispanic household food insecurity rate (17.9%) is twice as high as the rate for non-Hispanic White households (8.2%), the most food secure.6

In addition, Latino households with children have even higher rates of food insecurity; 21.6% of these households experience food insecurity compared to 11.8% of similar White households. Because of the dearth of resources in many Latino households, their ability to make food purchases is restricted.  While the typical non-Hispanic White U.S. household spends $45 per person each week for food, Hispanic households spend 25% less, just $33 weekly per person.7

A survey in the Journal of Nutrition found that some of the consequences of food insecurity include hunger pangs, fatigue, lack of concentration at school, low work capacity, stress, disrupted household dynamics, and distorted means of food acquisition and management. 9

Respondents to the survey reported depression, increased need for health care, and decreased participation in social activities. 10 Families will go to great lengths to keep their children from going hungry, which is why it is so alarming that many Latino children do not have adequate resources for a nutritious diet. Food insecure children are twice as likely to be in fair or poor health.11

Further, a survey of parents of low-income, young Latino children who are food insecure found that they are two times more likely to note developmental concerns, including risks of developmental delays or disabilities, than households with children who have adequate resources for food.12 Even small cognitive changes can have lasting impacts on a child s education. Even when a child experiences even mild levels of food insecurity, data suggest that school performance and social skills are comprised.13

The coping mechanisms associated within adequate food resources such as overeating when food is available, compromising the quality of food in order to consume higher quantities, and even skipping meals, which causes metabolic shifts can result in a higher propensity for weight gain. While food insecurity persists in the Latino community, there is also a rising trend of obesity. One recent study found that among Latino preschoolers children in the critical stages of growth nearly one-quarter (24.4%) were identified as obese.15

Food insecurity also has a broader impact on society. The increased risk for and severity of sickness and disease that results from food insecurity can create a demand for more physician time, extensive levels of treatment, and greater rates of hospitalization all of which require more money and resources. The health care costs associated with increased illness due to food insecurity not only fall on individuals who suffer from these effects, but ultimately add strain to the entire health care system.

There is also mounting evidence that the overweight and obesity trends in the United States are due, in part, to high levels of food insecurity.14

The educational benefits of participating in government assistance programs include contributing to families achieving a higher level of nutrition. Program participants are more likely than low income nonparticipants to lack confidence about their knowledge of good dietary practices and the quality of their diet. However, they benefit from nutrition education, which promotes consumption of healthier foods, a balanced diet, and physical activity. The results can be seen in the healthier choices they make in grocery stores.17 Further, the education of adult participants is likely to have lasting impact on the younger family members, encouraging children to make healthy choices in and outside of the household. Although it is difficult to establish a direct causal relationship between participation and health outcomes because of the added effects of the program on reducing poverty and improving socioeconomic status, data show that participants are able to make more deliberate choices that maximize the nutrition content of their food. In fact, despite rising obesity rates throughout the country for the population overall, women who
participated in the Food Stamp Program from 1999 to 2002 were less likely to be overweight and
were able to keep their weight relatively steady compared to nonparticipants.18

Document sampled from the House Committee on Agriculture website.

For more information on Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs visit: www.fns.usda.gov

Latinos and blacks in California more likely to die of H1N1 than whites

According to Los Angeles Times, California Latinos have been nearly twice as likely as whites to die of H1N1 flu since the pandemic began last spring, according to statewide figures released this morning by the California Department of Public Health.

Over the same months, blacks in the state have been 50% more likely to die of H1N1 flu than whites, according to the report.

“Not everybody has been impacted equally” by H1N1, said state epidemiologist Dr. Gilberto Chavez during a briefing this morning. Chavez said statistics have shown “very important racial disparities” in H1N1 mortality and hospitalization rates.

Chavez said blacks were three times as likely as whites to be hospitalized with H1N1 flu, and Latinos twice as likely. He said Native Americans, who make up most of the “other” category in state H1N1 data, are also more likely to be hospitalized and die of H1N1 flu than whites.

There are several reasons for the higher mortality and hospitalization rates among those minorities, Chavez said. Blacks and Latinos have high rates of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, that studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate put them at greater risk of catching the flu, Chavez said. They also tend to have less access to healthcare and wait longer to seek help, he said, which reduces the chances for successful treatment with antiviral medication.

“For cultural reasons, they may be waiting too long to seek care,” Chavez said. “This gives us an idea of who we need to target for outreach and immunizations.”

A Clear Message Regarding Colorectal Cancer: Prevention is Key

Denver, Colorado. (ConCienciaNews) - It is not a coincidence that most health conditions that disproportionately affect the Latino community in the United States are the result of the lack of prevention, including language barriers, lack of health insurance and access to basic information, there are many reasons why Hispanics do not undergo screening testing in time.

In the case of colorectal cancer, the situation becomes especially critical. Screening tests are aimed at senior populations, where there is a particular resistance among male Hispanics.
“Many times [the lack of prevention] is due to cultural factors, especially in men,” said Rodolfo Cardenas, journalist and spokesperson of the campaign Cancer affects all us, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “They often say ‘I do not need such things’.”

Such ‘things’ refer in particular to the three different types of screening tests for colorectal cancer, from which the most popular is perhaps the colonoscopy, which consists in the exploration of the intestines.

However, Cardenas believes that his credibility as a journalist in Denver community and personal experience may have a positive impact on Hispanic men. Born in Tachira, in Western Venezuela, Cardenas has lived the same experiences of many immigrants who come with temporary plans, but eventually decide to stay.

“I would love to change their minds and teach them that prevention is very important,” Cardenas said. “I am also a man, I am a Latino, I live in the U.S. and I am at that age in which we all must undergo testing and take care of ourselves. If I do this, why others cannot do it as well?
Although he has been very lucky since no one in his family has suffered from the disease, Cardenas has closely seen the effects of cancer on very of his closest friends.

“All these situations really touched me, ‘if I can do something, I will do it,’ and here is the opportunity, fortunately,” he said.

He is not trying to overcome the taboos in Latino community regarding cancer and colonoscopy, a test he underwent, Cardenas’s message goes beyond and covers future generations.

“We must do it for ourselves and our family’s well-being. I want to take care of myself because of my children. My father did it for me - although I was already a grown-up and independent man when my father died-; I still miss him every day.

This is a gift he wants to pass on to future generations.

“Although my two sons are grown up now, I feel they need me more every day,” Cardenas said. “I take care of myself for my family, so take care for yours,” he concluded.
To access information and resources of the campaign El Cancer nos Afecta a Todos, call the Acceso Hispano help line at 1-800-473-3003

Source: ConCienciaNews