SUNDAY, May 28, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients and their families have a new online resource to turn to, funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
The Web site, launched in May by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research, is called Conviviendo con el Cancer de Seno, -- a translation of Living With Breast Cancer.
That's the title of a program found on an English-language Web resource called the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS).
In earlier research, the English-language site seemed to have a consistently positive impact on the outcomes of the breast cancer patients who participated in the program. A team of representatives from Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela translated the site into Spanish, with assistance from the Dane County Latino Health Council. Redes en Accion: The National Latino Cancer Network and the Center for Patient Partnerships also contributed to the translations.
"To the best of our knowledge, this new site is the most comprehensive and culturally relevant resource on the Web for Latinas with breast cancer," said project manager Susana Torres-Corona. "The site offers an extensive database of original content, and it also serves as an information clearinghouse linking directly to other high-quality educational materials in Spanish for Latinas created by trusted sources such as the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation," said Torres-Corona.
As breast cancer causes the most deaths from cancer in Hispanic women, and survival rates are lower than other ethnicities, the site was developed to serve and help that population, said Dr. Bret Shaw, lead investigator for the Web site project.
"By adding Spanish-speaking women to other underserved demographic groups already benefiting from our program, we anticipate reduced health information disparities between Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients and other demographic groups, as well as improved quality of life for Latina breast cancer patients and their families," said Shaw.
More information
Here's the new Spanish-language Web site.
