Recent Articles

Cancer Affects Everyone

Communities Work Together Towards Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Hispanics Report Dissatisfaction with the Availability of Cancer Information

Hispanic Health to Benefit from Stimulus Package

Latinos Face Greater Risk of Stroke

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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.

Communities Work Together Towards Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Denver, Colorado. (ConCienciaNews) – For Luis Barrera, communications director at Avanza supermarkets in Denver, to offer good products to Hispanic families is as important as providing them with tools that contribute to their well-being and that of their communities.

That’s why, this month, Barrera is lending space at the Denver supermarket for three volunteers to set up a table with computers and internet access. The goal? To inform and educate Avanza’s consumers in Denver about colorectal cancer risks and how to prevent them.

This initiative is part of El Cancer nos Afecta a Todos, a campaign funded by the CDC, which has the goal to prevent colorectal cancer, the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer among Hispanics.

From teaching them how to use the internet to accessing cancer-related information and where to go to obtain health resources and get a colonoscopy, health Promotoras are working directly with adults 50 and older throughout Denver Latino communities.

“People have been excited about this because the information is first-hand,” Barrera said. “The response has been great because people are always worried about their health.”

This is a concern that, according to Barrera, businesses should neither ignore, nor underestimate. As a Mexican immigrant committed to social causes, Barrera understands that making business should also go hand-to-hand with social responsibility.

“It’s not just about setting up a store and that’s it,” he said. “It’s also about interacting with the consumers and being part of their community.”

Barrera has been part of such initiatives even before his arrival in the United States seven years ago. In his native Mexico, he helped create projects that contributed to higher accessibility of cancer medications, the construction of a hospital and general assistance for kids with leukemia.

Once in the United States, Latino immigrants develop risk factors that make them more vulnerable to certain diseases, such as cancer. According to the CDC, 41 percent of Mexican American adults between 50 and 83 years old admitted in a 2003 study to never having any sort of colorectal cancer detection test; just a few of them admitted having some sort of accurate knowledge of the disease; and 41 percent said they had had discussed detection with their doctors at some point.

Although general barriers that lead to the abovementioned situation include lack of information, lack of health insurance and language barriers, Latinos are also underrepresented among the medical communities through clinical trials; regardless of being the fastest-growing segment of the US population.

The medical community suggests over and over that a change in eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle may play a detrimental role in Hispanics’ propensity to cancer.  For this reason, besides adopting a healthy diet and exercising regularly, the CDC urges adults 50 and older –or those with a family medical history of colorectal cancer—to get tested for colorectal cancer.

Doing so can save many lives.

For information and resources regarding the El Cancer nos Afecta a Todos campaign, call our helpline at 1-800-473-3003

Hispanics Report Dissatisfaction with the Availability of Cancer Information

Eighty-three percent of Hispanic respondents to a Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) reported never seeking cancer information from any source. Those who sought cancer information experienced dissatisfaction with their search.

Hispanics reported low confidence overall in their ability to obtain cancer information.

Close to 30% of Spanish-speaking individuals had little to no confidence in their ability to obtain cancer information compared to 6% of non-Hispanics and 11.5% of English-speaking Hispanics.

Among Spanish-speaking Hispanics, 67% said their last search for cancer information took alot of effort, 55% said the information was hard to understand, and 58% had concerns about the quality of the information they found. Among English-speaking Hispanics, the information-seeking experience was slightly better; with 43% saying their last search took a lot of effort, 25% saying the information was hard to understand, and 60% having concerns about the quality of information they found.

The bottom line is, more information needs to be made available in Spanish about cancer. Acceso Hispano is attempting to address this need through our “El Cancer Nos Afecta a Todos” campaign.

Read results of HINTS survey

Learn more about Acceso Hispano’s cancer awareness campaign

View cancer resources in Spanish

Hispanic Health to Benefit from Stimulus Package

Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the nation’s leading Hispanic health advocacy group, delivered the following statement on the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by President Obama in Denver, CO.

“In the current economic environment, millions of Hispanic families are an illness or hospital stay away from financial disaster. The President’s action today in Denver, signing into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, has brought a measure of peace of mind to millions struggling with their family budgets.

With one in ten Hispanics now unemployed, the ranks of the uninsured are growing daily. The President has taken decisive action to address the needs of Hispanic families. By reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) less than two weeks ago, an estimated 1.5 million currently uninsured Hispanic children are now poised to gain health insurance coverage. Today, by signing the stimulus package, the President is bringing relief to families by extending private health insurance support for the unemployed, increasing federal spending on Medicaid, and expanding the capacity of community health centers to deliver needed health care services.

The stimulus package signed by the President also makes critical investments in the future of improved health care for all Americans. Support for health information technology, including collection of information on gender and ethnicity, dramatically improves our national understanding of health. Comparative effectiveness research called for in the legislation is significantly improved by language recognizing that ‘a one-size-fits-all approach…is not the most medically appropriate’ and calling for inclusion of diverse populations in research.

New investments in prevention and training of primary care providers will refocus health care services on supporting health rather than only treating illness. Furthermore, support for science research, environmental innovation, and education of the next generation of scientists will ensure that scientific, medical, and environmental innovation continues to be an important component of the American economy.

Visit http://www.hispanichealth.org/ to learn more.

Latinos Face Greater Risk of Stroke

Sacramento CA– While Friday designated “Go Red For Women,” a national event promoting heart disease awareness in women, the American Heart Association also launched a stroke outreach program targeting Latinos.

“Juntos Contra El Derrame Cerebral/Together Against Stroke” focuses on educating the Latino community about what a stroke is, in addition to lifestyle changes and stroke prevention.

Joe Debbs, a member of the association’s board of directors, said Latinos are particularly vulnerable to stroke because of a healthcare accessibility gap. “It has a lot to do with our social economic background,” said Debbs. “As we know, Latinos have been put on the short end of our healthcare system.”

As a result, the average age of a non-Latino who suffers a stroke is 80. In contrast, the average age for Latinos in this country is 67, according to the association.

“We eat a lot of fried foods, we season our food, and although our foods are tasteful, some of them are not so healthy,” said Debbs.

Elsa Santos had a stroke at just 41 years old. While she is lucky to have survived, she struggles each day to regain strength in her left arm and leg, which the stroke had initially left completely paralyzed.

“I’m really advocating that people learn about the impact of stroke,” said Santos. She wonders if knowing more about strokes could have prevented hers altogether. “I had been complaining of headaches and I was finishing a bottle of Advil a month,” she said. “But I didn’t think anything of it. I was just really ignorant to it.”

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Source: KXTV News 10