Women's Health
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Breast Cancer and it’s Racial Divide
Can you tell by the flood of pink everything for sale that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While you may see the ad that 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime, what you might not see or hear is that while Hispanic and African American women are less likely to get breast cancer than Caucasian women, their chances of dying from breast cancer are actually higher.
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Save the date FREE Pap Screens in New York City!
I am so happy to announce that on Saturday, May 18, 2013, Tamika & Friends, Inc., New York Chapter, in collaboration with New York Presbyterian Hospital will be providing FREE pap screens to anyone in need.
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January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
Imagine never being able to have a child not because you choose to, but because you were diagnosed with an advance cancer and need a hysterectomy. Or being happily married for some time and on a routine appointment with your gynecologist, find out you have cancer – caused by a sexually transmitted infection. Or how about needing to cut costs to make ends meet, so you cut your health insurance. Only to find out five years later when you finally go to see your gynecologist than you have cancer. These are the real life stories of women that were diagnosed with cervical cancer, women just like me and you, whose lives were…
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Take care of your body.
We only have one life and one body, so why wouldn’t you want to do everything you can to take care of it?? I was thrilled when one of my health tips was recently published in Shape Magazine. Read my tip, along with seven other great tips for your body here: 8 Best Things You Can Do For Your Body This Summer
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5 Medical Tests Every Latina Should Have Done Now
It breaks my heart and really irks me when I’m online doing research and read news articles, medical journals, websites and blog posts showing me over and over lists of diseases striking all women, with Latina women near or at the top. In my own family, with members of all different economic and educational backgrounds, I see firsthand the struggles I read about daily. It is easily the most frustrating experience ever trying to explain to my Puerto Rican mother why, no puedes comer arroz blanco cada día si quieres bajar de peso. Or when she looks at me like I’m crazy when she waves her carrot sticks in my face…
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My first article for Impacto Latino News
Via Last week Health and Human Services Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow Plan B One-Step be sold over the counter to all women. How did she come to this decision? Read my entire article at Impacto Latino News
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What method of birth control is right for you?
Knowing what kind of birth control to use can sometimes be overwhelming. We are bombarded with TV commercials, see the different ads in magazines and even our friends have their opinions based on what may or may not have worked for them. As women we should become our own health advocate, and this includes being responsible for our reproductive health. How do you know what type of birth control is right for you? Are you even comfortable talking about birth control? Bedsider is an online birth control support network that targets women from the ages of 18-27. They are a private, non-profit organization, whose goal is to help women find and learn…
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The L.O.V.E. Walk
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but did you know it’s also Domestic Violence Awareness month? This past weekend, I joined founders Rhina Valentin and April Lee Hernandez for the 1st ever L.O.V.E. Walk (Love Overcomes Violence Eternally). They based it on the passage from the bible (1 Corinthians 13:4) often heard at celebrations of love like weddings, which describe what love is and how God (Universe) intended for us to love one another. Via Domestic violence and emotional abuse are defined as behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Like many diseases, it does not discriminate. There is no “typical” victim because it affects people of all ages, income and…
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Breast Cancer Basics
Senos, ta-tas, the twins/girls, airbags, funbags, headlights, and in New Jersey some people like to call them “bubbies”. Whatever you may like to call them, with the latest statistics reporting that 1 in 8 women will be affected by breast cancer in their lifetimes, we should all know what the basics of this disease are so we can better protect them! Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women living in the US, and is a malignant tumor starting in the cells that make up the breast, usually the lobules (where milk is made) and ducts (tubes that bring the milk to the nipples). Risk Factors Risk factors let…
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The 1st Latinos Walk Against Cancer
This past Saturday, September 25, 2011, I participated in the 1st annual Latinos Walk Against Cancer organized by Latin Women Empower F.A.C.E.S. (Family, Advocacy, Counseling, Education, Support). They promote the strengthening of family values with a focus on education on breast and cervical cancer. I came to the walk with friend and breast cancer survivor, Marlena Ortiz and we met up with our great friend; advocate and cervical cancer survivor, Patti Murillo-Casa. We came with no expectations, just the willingness to support what this walk stood for. The rates of incidence for breast and especially cervical cancer, is higher for Latina women than any other group. This walk was a…
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The annual Tamika & Friends New York “Walk To Beat The Clock”
Saturday, September 17, 2011, was the Tamika & Friends New York chapter’s annual walk for cervical cancer. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, supporters, family and friends, the walk was a success! We raised close to $17,000 that will be used in our gift of giving, which pays for pap tests and also provides financial assistance to cervical cancer patients and survivors. Warming up before the walk! Thank you to our sponsors; hint water, pop chips, New York Pelvic Pain and Minimally Invasive Gynecological Surgery and the New York chapter of LATISM (Latinos In Social Media). While the entire executive board worked hard to make this walk a success, we could not have…
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Glam Fest GIVEAWAY for Endometriosis Foundation of America
What is endometriosis? From the Endometrisis Foundation of America, when women have their monthly menstruation, the uterine lining or endometrium is shed monthly in response to normal hormonal changes. Generally lasting from 3 to 7 days, we in turn bleed or have our “period” as its more commonly referred to. www.health.com Sometimes, some of these fluids are kept in a woman’s body and implant in areas outside of the uterus. They continue to accumulate on our bladder, bowel, ovaries and even nearby organs leading to the development of adhesions and scarring. This causes symptoms such as painful periods, chronic pelvic pain, infertility, pain with intercourse and urinary pain or difficulty.…
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Save the Date for Tamika & Friend’s New York Chapter Annual Walk September 17, 2011
Cervical cancer – have you heard of this horrible disease? The more I talk with women and various groups they tell me they “have heard of it” but do not know the facts nor how common it actually is. It is a cancer of the cervix, the opening from our vagina to the uterus and caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). www.tamikaandfriends.org Some facts There are many strains of HPV, some cause genital warts, while others (mainly 2 strains) are responsible for up to 70% of all cervical cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV. Another 6 million…
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Happy Mother’s Day – Feliz Día de las Madres
Yes that’s me! Happy Mother’s Day to my mom Juana, whom I affectionately call “Mamá Juana” (just like the rum concoction). I love her with all my heart! Yes we bump heads, and yes I’ve counted to ten in my head many times, saying “Dios ayudame” when she can’t understand where I am coming from. I’ve also dodged (and missed) a few chancletas here and there as she very quickly let me know that she will not tolerate any disrespect. It all makes me remember how much the world and our roles and expectations as women have changed between our generations. While she may not fully understand what I am…
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National Women & Girls HIV/Awareness Day
Although March 10th is the day marked for National Women & Girls HIV/Awareness Day, I urge everyone reading this to make sure they take time out throughout the month of March to learn something new about HIV/AIDS, strategies to prevent infection and also for those affected, how to get the care they need to extend their life. At the very least, you should know what your HIV status is. As stated by the Office on Women’s Health, “women account for an estimated 27 percent of new HIV infections in the United States each year and 25 percent of those living with HIV. Many women do not know they are infected”.…
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Chatting with the Chicas about Cervical Cancer
This past Thursday, Patti Murillo-Casa and I were fortunate enough to be able to chat with one of the hosts of blog talk radio show chicas chatting, Jennifer Hutcheson about cervical cancer. As one of the more preventable forms of cancer, Latina women are still disproportionately affected, at almost twice the rate of any other ethnic group. This is almost always die to lack of awareness and not going for routine checkups with their gynecologist. Early detection is key to increasing your rate of survival, and vaccines are available that help protect against 75% of the different types of HPV (human papillomavirus) that cause cervical cancer. As always, please be…
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Catching up with Christine Baze from the Yellow Umbrella Organization
January is Cervical Cancer awareness month and what better way to kick it off than an interview with Christine Baze, founder of the Yellow Umbrella organization. At the age of 31, you were diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, underwent a hysterectomy, radiation and chemotherapy, all within four months. What do you remember most about that time? After 13 normal pap smears, the thing I remember the most during that time was being overwhelmed with feelings of terror, disbelief, anger, sadness and pure fear – yet having to get up every day and deal with those feelings and do what was needed to be done to kick cancer’s butt. Which,…