Growing up, I had never really encountered anyone with a mental illness. Yes, there were people in the family who were a bit eccentric but no one had ever been diagnosed with anything specific.

In the United States, pain is the most common reason individuals consult with a physician, yet for many – especially the Hispanic community – pain is a very sensitive topic especially among cancer patients.  However, through culturally-relevant education on how best to manage pain, patients can empower themselves to have an active voice in their healthcare and learn how their cancer journey can be pain free.

Being fit doesn’t necessarily mean fitting into a size 2 – or even a size 14.

In schools where trained chefs jazzed up fare, children ate more fruits and vegetables--and the schools themselves saved money, according to a study released online Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Getting them to drink plain milk instead of chocolate milk was a much bigger challenge, however.

Researchers at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health studied the eating habits of more than 2,600 third- through eighth-graders in two low-income urban school districts. The vast majority of the children were Hispanic, and their average age was 11 1/2. Trained chefs were randomly assigned to some schools to spice up fruits, vegetables and entrees with low-fat, low-salt recipes. In some of the schools, the project also experimented with how the foods were presented to the children in the food line.

Part 2: Barriers and Solutions      

The primary barrier for Latinos in accessing current available services for substance use disorders is language. The lack of Spanish-speaking mental health treatment providers is a major problem since close to 40% of Latinos living in this country have limited English proficiency.