News

For Hispanics, One Size Does Not Fit All

Newsweek - June 6, 2010 - J. Lester Feder

For Hispanics, One Size Does Not Fit All

City Care Decried in Tot's Death

The Hartford Courant - Jan. 20, 1973 - David H. Rhinelander

City Care Decried in Tot's Death

A Gift of Wigs Helps the Sick

The Hartford Courant - March 3, 2010 - Susan Campbell

A Gift of Wigs Helps the Sick

Concern Grows Over Program Funding

Concern Grows Over Program Funding - Jan. 14, 2010- Ray Villeda

WFSB Channel 3 News

Hispanic Health Council Featured on NBC-30 Connecticut News

NBC 30 Connecticut News - Dec. 29, 2009 - Special Report  Connecticut 2020:

The Decade of the Latino Boom 

Health Care Interpreters: Medical Necessity

The Hartford Courant - March 13, 2009 - Jeannette B. DeJesus

Health Care Interpreters: Medical Necessity

Puppet Shows Help Hispanic Health Council Promote Proper Nutrition

The Hartford Courant - Feb. 16, 2009 - Kathleen Megan

Puppet Shows Help Hispanic Health Council Promote Proper Nutrition

Finding a Voice to Match the Pressing Medical Needs of Hispanics

The New York Times - Dec. 7, 2008 - Tracy Gordon Fox

Finding a Voice to Match the Pressing Medical Needs of Hispanics

Rell's Proposal Doesn't Make Sense

Hartford Business Journal - March 10, 2008 - Jeannette DeJesus

Rell's Proposal Doesn't Make Sense

Latino Health Lags

The Hartford Courant - Dec. 15, 2006 - Editorial

Latino Health Lags

Unhealthy Diagnosis

The Hartford Courant - Dec. 13, 2006 - Hilary Waldman

Unhealthy Diagnosis

8 Remarkable Women in Business

Hartford Business Journal - April 4, 2005

8 Remarkable Women in Business

Breast Friends

The Hartford Courant - Oct. 26, 2004 - Hilary Waldman

Breast Friends

Diabetes in Latinos Studied

The Hartford Courant - March 9, 2004 - Hilary Waldman

Diabetes in Latinos Studied

An Advocate Lives Her Mission

The Hartford Courant - June 17, 2002 - Johnny Mason

An Advocate Lives Her Mission

Hispanic Health Council Reports AIDS Survey Results

The Hartford News - Oct. 2, 1996 - Don Rully

Hispanic Health Council Reports AIDS Survey Results

Project Releases Results of Youth Survey on AIDS

The Hartford Courant - Sept. 9, 1996 - Lisa Chedekel

Project Releases Results of Youth Survey on AIDS

AIDS Issues, Research to be Discussed at Conference in Hartford

The Hartford Courant - June 6, 1996 - Kathryn Kranhold

AIDS Issues, Research to be Discussed at Conference in Hartford

Grant Funds After-school Programs

The Hartford Courant - Oct. 23, 1995 - Constance Neyer

Grant Funds After-school Programs

Students Learn to Cope with Violence

The Hartford Courant - March 14, 1995

Students Learn to Cope with Violence

Luz Rohena, AIDS Worker, Hispanic Health Council

Hartford Advocate - March 30, 1995

Luz Rohena, AIDS Worker, Hispanic Health Council

Latinos & AIDS

Hartford Advocate - Sept. 1, 1994 - Jayne Keedle

Latinos & AIDS

Marchers Protest Response to Drowning

The Hartford Courant - Aug. 13, 1994 - Maria Alvarez

Marchers Protest Response to Drowing

Looking for Solutions to Problems of Youth

The Hartford Courant - June 15, 1994 - Pamela Mitchell

Looking for Solutions to Problems of Youths

Health Council's Plan to Open Youth Center Wins Agency Backing

The Hartford News - Nov. 24, 1993 - Helen Ubinas

Health Council's Plan to Open Youth Center Wins Agency Backing

Hunger Among Children is a Growing Concern

The Hartford Courant - Feb. 10, 1993 - Kathleen Megan

Hunger Among Children is a Growing Concern

Hartford Groups Get $900,000 for AIDS Fight

The Hartford Courant - Oct. 9, 1992 - Eric Lipton

Hartford Groups Get $900,000 for AIDS Fight

Local Groups Awarded Millions for AIDS Work

The Hartford Courant - April 6, 1992 - Mary Otto

Local Groups Awarded Millions for AIDS Work

Childbirth Educators Target Hispanic Women

The Hartford Courant - July 27, 1990 - Hilary Waldman

Childbirth Educators Target Hispanic Women

Activist Gonzalez: Middle Class, Perhaps, but Committed Fighter

The Hartford Courant - Jan. 16, 1981

Activist Gonzalez: Middle Class, Perhaps, But Committed Fighter

Hospital Defends Policies on Sterilizing Women

The Hartford Courant - Oct. 18, 1980 - C. L. Smith Muniz

Hospital Defends Policies on Sterilizing Women

Sterilization Count Higher Than Expected

The Hartford Courant - Oct. 13, 1980 - Carol Giacomo

Sterilization Count Higher Than Expected

Casa de Puerto Rico Gets $73,525 Grant

The Hartford Courant - Aug. 24, 1978 - Manuel Vargas

Casa de Puerto Rico Gets $78,525 Grant

For Hispanics, a Unique Cancer Profile Emerges

September 15, 2009 

From The National Alliance for Hispanic Health - Health News

TUESDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Hispanics in the United States are less likely to die from cancer than non-Hispanic whites, but they have higher rates of cancers linked to infections, including stomach, liver and cervix malignancies, a new report says.

At first glance, Hispanics' lower death rate from cancer seems to be good news, but one explanation is that the Hispanic population skews younger than the general U.S. population. Cancer risk rises with age.

The new detailed look at cancer incidence is from Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2009-2011, a report released Sept. 15 that's published every three years by the American Cancer Society.

Hispanics are the largest, fastest-growing and youngest minority in the United States, according to the report. They also have a cancer risk profile that differs from whites and other ethnic groups.

Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from the four most common cancers: breast, prostate, colorectal and lung.

But Hispanics have higher rates of stomach cancer, associated with Helicobacter pylori infection; liver cancer, associated with hepatitis B and C infection; and cervical cancer, linked to human papillomavirus infection.

Immunizations against human papillomavirus in teenage girls can prevent cervical cancer, and regular gynecological screenings for women can catch cervical cancer early, but Hispanic women are less likely to get either, said Vilma Cokkinides, the American Cancer Society's director for risk factor surveillance.

And though Hispanics are less likely to smoke and drink alcohol, both risk factors for cancer, they are more likely to be poor, have fewer years of education and lack health insurance, barriers to getting recommended screenings, according to the report.

Hispanics are also more likely than whites to be diagnosed with breast and melanoma cancers at a later stage, when the cancers are more difficult to treat and have spread to other organs.

Cokkinides said that programs targeting Spanish-speakers about the importance of screening and risk factors for cancer could help, as could programs to increase access to medical insurance and medical care.

But one challenge in developing such programs, she said, is that the U.S. Hispanic population is diverse, with variations in country of origin, length of time in the United States, educational attainment and experience and knowledge of the health-care system.

"Things like mammograms and Pap smears aren't necessarily routine where people are coming from," Cokkinides said.

Yet certain lessons should be stressed across all cultures, she said.

"Avoidance of tobacco products, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a largely plant-based diet, minimizing alcohol consumption and exercising is good advice for everybody," Cokkinides said.

Hilary Waldman, a spokeswoman for the Hispanic Health Council in Hartford, Conn., said that it's not uncommon for Hispanic women to be diagnosed with later-stage cancers that could have been picked up sooner through proper screenings. The council runs a Spanish-language cancer support group for Hispanic women, in addition to its research and advocacy functions.

"There's a real lack of support for culturally appropriate and linguistically appropriate services for them," Waldman said.

And though many big-city hospitals have interpreters, smaller or suburban hospitals often don't, she said, adding that the complexity of cancer and its often-complicated treatment plans and serious side effects make interpreters all the more important.

In the support groups, Waldman said, women often talk about their distress in not being able to understand their doctors -- or having their doctors understand them.

"There's a big problem getting medical interpretation for people who don't speak English," she said. "There is no mechanism to pay for it. If you're lucky, they will bring in the housekeeper or somebody who happens to be around to translate."

The inability to communicate, combined with financial issues, has led some women to skip appointments, Waldman said.

Nearly 99,000 Hispanics in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society. Among men, prostate is the most common malignancy; among women, it's breast cancer. Colorectal cancer is the second-most common cancer in both Hispanic men and women.

About 18,800 Hispanics will die from cancer in 2009, the society estimates. Among men, lung and colorectal cancer cause the most deaths, whereas breast and lung cancer are the top two killers of women.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more on racial and ethnic disparities and cancer.

SOURCES: Vilma Cokkinides, Ph.D., director, risk factor surveillance, American Cancer Society, Atlanta; Hilary Waldman, spokeswoman, Hispanic Health Council, Hartford, Conn.; Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2009-2011, Sept. 15, 2009 

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