Breast cancer may be more difficult to detect in minorities

An astonishing new research study suggests that breast cancer may be more difficult to detect in minority women. The reason being that minority women tend to have denser breasts and as most of you who went to the breast cancer event should know, dense breasts are harder to see through with a mammogram. This adds to the plethora of reasons for why minorities, mostly blacks, face cancer disparities when it comes to screening, access, and treatment.

This article gives a little breakdown of how breast cancer affects each minority group differently.

Breast Cancer in African American Women

Continued research on the breast cancer disparity.

http://www.bradenton.com/2011/10/18/3574595/deadly-mystery-breast-cancer-study.html

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
This choosemyplate.com is a very good website that gives nutrition and calories count, healthy eating tips. For people in different conditions have different tips to follow. For example there is a different list of nutritious food for pregnant women.

Profile of Hope: Tracey Tann Parker -- Feeling good after a healthy lifestyle change

I read this story about Tracey Parker and found it interesting that how her unhealthy life changed after change in her life style. She realized that she was not eating fruits and vegetables after she was assigned a home work by a professor.

Ralph Lauren on WHCR

Hey all,

WHCR recently hosted the director of the Ralph Lauren Cancer Center on one of their shows. You can listen to it here:
Interview

He talks about Patient Navigation and Cancer treatment in Harlem, and discusses the RLCC's partnership with MSKCC. Enjoy!

Study finds association between cancer and bacteria

An article in the Harvard Crimson today tells of a possible association between cancer and bacteria. Bacteria called Fusobacteria have been found in large quantities in tumors of many colorectal cancer patients. The exact relationship between these kinds of bacteria and tumors has not been determined yet but more research will be done in order to figure this out. Infected tissue samples were examined through a process called Pathogen Sequencing. Advancements in DNA sequencing technology have made this discovery possible.

This bacteria hasn't been discovered to cause cancer but new discoveries could aid in the development of future treatments. It's kind of like the way HPV has been attributed to cervical cancer.

Link: Study May Link Bacteria to Cancer

8 Communities with Breast Cancer Disparities

Here's a story on NPR about a study by Dr. Harold P. Freeman (the man who pioneered Patient Navigators) on cancer disparities in eight U.S. communities, both rural and urban. He says poverty and lack of education are the common denominators in all these communities, across ethnic and geographic differences.

The shortage of CHEMO-THERAPY drugs...

WOW. The shortage of CHEMO-drugs! Prices Increases...Disparities of course will soon increase.

The video below from MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44938030#44938030

Cancer patients show symptoms of PTSD

Hello everyone,

I was reading up on some cancer news and found a Reuters article talking about how many cancer survivors struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. A statistic says that nearly 4 out of 10 survivors display symptoms. "Those symptoms include being extra jumpy, having disturbing thoughts about the cancer and its treatment, or feeling emotionally numb toward friends and family." It also said that 1 in 10 try not thinking about the disease and at least 1 in 20 avoid any kind of activity or situation that reminded them of cancer.


This could be dangerous for the survivor because they're not supposed to avoid medical care and miss follow ups because there is always chance of recurrence. The survey was conducted at the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina and based on 566 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I find this survey a little surprising especially since the article says that low-income people are extra vulnerable to the psychological effects of living with this disease, but it makes sense.


Here's the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/us-cancer-ptsd-idUSTRE79B7FT20111012

U.S. Panel Says No to Prostate Screening for Healthy Men

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/health/07prostate.html

WOW! Found this article...I think it is something to consider

For a Doctor, Survival and Transformation

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/health/11brody.html?ref=health

This was a really inspiring story about a young Doctor being diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She sees and can understand the other side of her table: from a doctors point of view to a patients point of view. One of the things she values was having a people around her willing to help her as well as a mentor who helped her get through the struggle. Being that she was married, the part that stood out the most for me was the fact that during Therapy her and her husband took a vacation to Hawaii together. =)

Hi every On Tuesday October me and Rebecca met with one of the speakers from the Breast cancer in women of Color conference, Karen Schmitt. Karen is the Director of the Northern Manhattan cancer screening partnership at Columbia University. She spoke about the services they provide... there are two types of services in seven different offices. In-reach services is that patients come to office and they get free screening and if they were diognose they help them to apply for Medicaid Cancer Treatment Program for immediate services but there are some patients who do not qualify for that too. New York prespeterian has funds for those patients not qualified for medicaid. they also provide Out-reach services by looking out for patients who are in need andmake sure all patients get the type of treatments they can' get. About nutrition effects on cancer she added that the message for cancer is healthy lifestyle. Therefore exercise has a role, and having healthy food has an effects but the real cause of cancer is unknown.
Among the women of color the cancer is not as common as in white women but African American women has high mortality rate... maybe because when they go under chemotherapy their white blood cells level dramatically drops so they need to wait for the blood cells get back to normal in order to proceed with chemotherapy again.
the other issues Women of color has, are emotional issues, Socioeconomic issues, low level of health literacy. So we need to make sure everything we write in a pamphlet should be really basic level.

Medicaid for Immigrants who are Not Permanent Residents

Hey Class,

This article pertains to Medicaid for Immigrants who are Not Permanent Residents. My group was given a case with a person who fits this profile. I'm currently brainstorming projects that can meet the educational barriers of immigrant cancer patients by promoting awareness of programs that meet their specific needs such as Emergency Medicaid.

Click on the title to access the website.

Event this week Epidemiology and Biostatistics Seminar Serie

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Seminar Series Presents: Paolo Boffetta, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine - "Cancer Epidemiology Research: Challenges and Opportunities"

Date:

October 12, 2011

Time:

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

College:

CUNY School of Public Health

Address:

2180 Third Ave., New York, NY 10035 (Corner of 119th & 3rd Ave.)
Manhattan

Building:

Silberman

Room:

115B, First Floor

Phone:

(212) 396-7778

Website:

http://www.cuny.edu/sph

Admission:

Free

Questions for Karen

Hey all,

Malika, Jean and I will be meeting with Karen Schmitt from the Northern Manhattan Cancer Screening Partnership next Tuesday. She was one of the speakers at the NYU Breast Cancer conference, and we think she could have some insights into the needs of patients undergoing treatment.
Does anyone have any questions they would like to ask her? We'll post back to the blog after our meeting and share what we find.

Healthy Foods, Strong Communities

This article breaks down the historical aspect of the unavailability of healthy foods in low-income minority communities and solutions that have been implemented. I found it interesting.

Great Summary of Harlem cancer screening, hospitalization, incidence, and mortality

If you click the cancer.pdf link under "Harlem Health Statistics" (on the page link below), there is a great break down of the top 4 types of cancer and their comparision in Central Harlem, East Harlem, NYC, and the US.
http://healthyharlem.org/about_harlem_3.php

Healthier versions of soul food

This page is a link off of ralph lauren cancer center in Harlems website. It just shows how you can change the recipe of some food so that it is healthier and the same taste. It also has a link to 40 ways to improve your health and 45 superfoods , which is a list of fruits and vegetables and why they are beneficial to the body.