In my experience, it’s not uncommon for patients to be overwhelmed by the nature of their diagnosis and the implications of proposed therapy. Being a cancer specialist, it comes with the territory.

En este video de HHL, Ismael Cala, periodista, autor y presentador de televisión, habla sobre la importancia de tener armonía entre la mente y el cuerpo físico.

Many of us have heard of the Hispanic Health Paradox, the fact that U.S. Hispanics live longer and have better healthcare outcomes than non-Hispanic whites even though whites tend to have higher income and education levels which correlate with longer life expectancy. Unfortunately, that paradox does not hold up for cancer. There is no protective benefit in being Hispanic when it comes to cancer. Of particular concern is breast cancer since it is the most commonly diagnosed and leading cause of cancer deaths among Latinas. This statistic is a cause for concern but the more Latinas know about breast cancer prevention, early detection and treatment the greater likelihood that we will gain the upper hand on this disease.

In August 2004, my high school and college friend, Lilly Lorenzo-Luaces, a child psychologist who lives in Miami with her fiancee, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Almost 11 years later, she is cancer free. I sat down with her to discuss her story.