Sometimes, breakthroughs must be made not by researchers or individuals but by society. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, City of Hope's Vijay Trisal, M.D., describes a breakthrough that doesn't seem to have occurred: widespread awareness that the outcome of a person’s cancer is not decided by how hard they fight.

Latinas who have an abnormal mammogram result take 33 days longer to reach definitive diagnosis of breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Minority, poor patients are more likely than others to be diagnosed with late-stage thyroid cancer, as indicated by a new study published in the Journal of “Endocrinology and Metabolism.“

According to researchers, poor patients from all racial groups had more advanced stages of disease at the time of diagnosis when compared to wealthier counterparts, but minorities fared even worse when compared to non-Hispanic whites as a whole.

In this video,  Dr. Jeffery Weitzel, Chief of the Division of Clinical Cancer Genetics and Professor, Director, Cancer Screening and Prevention Program Network at City of Hope, discusses how physicians need to adapt their approach to Hispanic patients especially  with regards to genetic counseling. 

A world-renowned geneticist on cancer and Latinas, Dr. Weitzel shares his thoughts on how important the inclusion of family is when counseling a Hispanic patient. Physicians need to share with them how this will impact their families in order to earn their trust . In the end, he says, if you can win over the heart of a Latina she is more likley to be successful in her treatment and recovery.

John Ruiz, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of North Texas, Department of Psychology,headed new research which supports the existence of the pseudo-mythical "Hispanic paradox," a debatable phenomenon where poor Latinos experience health that's comparable or better than other ethnicities. The Journal of "Endocrinology and Metabolism" published a new study about poor minority patients being more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage thyroid cancer and living longer, which supports Ruiz's finding.