5 MIN READ | APRIL 05, 2023 | DISPONIBLE EN ESPA Ñ OL
Cancer’s Impact on the Hispanic Community
Cancer is among the leading causes of death for Hispanics, along with heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and accidents. Even among Hispanics who are successfully treated for cancer, rates of emotional well-being and quality of life during the survivorship period tend to be lower compared to non-Hispanic whites. Now, Frank Penedo, Ph.D., of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System, and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is leading a first-of-its-kind study to better understand why. Dr. Penedo, a professor of psychology and medicine and director of Sylvester ’ s Cancer Survivorship Program, knows some of the reasons. Hispanics are three times less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have adequate health insurance, and they earn less money on average, making it harder to access life-saving cancer screenings or, once diagnosed, receive adequate and timely treatments. But Dr. Penedo also believes that lack of knowledge, fear, and stigmatization of cancer in racial/ethnic minority communities also may play a major role.
While growing up in Miami, he remembers stories of Spanish telenovelas viewed by his family where the villain gets cancer as punishment from God. Dr. Penedo said those perceptions and beliefs could result in a complex challenge for our communities. Friends and family may grow nervous, even fearful, of those diagnosed with cancer. And the cancer patients themselves can feel weighed down by guilt and shame, which adds heightened levels of anxiety to their difficult road ahead. “Cancer may still be perceived as a punishment among many in our communities. In some cases, it is stigmatized almost as much as other conditions like HIV, and some refuse to even say the word cancer out loud,” Dr. Penedo said. To help address some of these challenges, Dr. Penedo is leading a six-year study to analyze what drives some of the quality of life, emotional and social experiences, and health outcomes in Hispanic cancer survivors.
Frank Penedo, Ph.D., of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System, and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
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The problem with that is that if you believe you’re being punished because of something you did wrong, it just exacerbates the stress of the
experience. Dr. Penedo
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