MARY QUEZADA
Recruiting Latina Sisters
I am originally from Caracas, Venezuela, where my extended family still lives. It was in this hectic city where I became involved in health issues that affected under served populations. Even before I graduated as a Social Worker, I started to do community health prevention work in several ‘barrios’ (poor neighborhoods) of Caracas. I quickly learned that knowledge was a powerful tool that could help make the best decision about our health. I now live in North Carolina with my two younger children and my husband, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Latinas and all women about this historic study.
After seventeen years working with health prevention programs in Venezuela and the U.S., I continue to see the immense need for more in depth knowledge about breast cancer. Research tells us that women from minority groups have higher numbers of breast cancer cases and tend to have their breast cancer detected at a late stage –sometimes too late to take action. Among Latinas, breast cancer has become the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death. We need to learn more about what is causing this disease. This is why the Sister Study is so crucial for us — Latinas, and for all women.
The beauty of the Sister Study is that it can give Latinas, and other underserved groups, a better understanding of how our environment and our genes contribute to the development of breast cancer. This study is empowering the many women who watched their sisters suffer, with the hope that their participation in the study will prevent breast cancer in future generations.
Our dream as a study is that there will be enough Latinas participating from the U.S and Puerto Rico to show that Latinas do have a voice when it comes to helping future generations. Let us hear you!