Cancer Support

El programa de apoyo para latinas DIVAS ayuda a mujeres de habla hispana en Hartford a vivir sin cáncer

El programa DIVAS, el único en su clase en Connecticut, salva vidas, ayudando a pacientes de cáncer de habla hispana a obtener el cuidado que necesitan.  A través de visitas al hogar, transportación, interpretación médica, educación y apoyo social, el programa asegura que latinas entiendan la enfermedad y continúen con un plan de cuidado.
     El programa ayuda a las mujeres a navegar el sistema de salud y superar los problemas como la falta de seguro médico, la amenaza de perder el trabajo, vivienda inestable, la inseguridad alimentaria, problemas familiares, y otros factores que pueden llevar a las latinas a retrasar su tratamiento contra el cáncer.

El programa fue presentado recientemente en PostLatino/TV. Haga clic aquí para ver el informe completo.

Hartford Shop Donates Wigs to Cancer Patients

Jangwon Son (left), owner of Hair City in Hartford, recently donated 75 new wigs for cancer patients who participate in the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program. Pictured with him in his Albany Avenue shop is Denise Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS program.    

Hartford beauty supply store owner Jangwon Son had never heard of the Hispanic Health Council when Denise Rivera called him to inquire about wigs for her cancer program clients. But somehow, the chance introduction seemed meant to be.
     Son, an immigrant from Korea, who owns Hair City in Hartford’s North End, had just packed up several boxes of surplus wigs and was thinking about where he might donate them.
     The devastating earthquake had just struck Haiti, so he thought of that first. Then he thought again. “They don’t need wigs,’’ he said. At about the same time, the phone rang in his cramped, but neatly organized shop at 1291 Albany Ave.
     Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program at the Hispanic Health Council was calling to ask if the shop accepted health insurance payments from cancer patients who needed wigs.
      For her clients enduring chemotherapy, the shock of losing their hair was often the saddest and most terrifying part of cancer treatment. One woman said she cried in the morning when she woke up to find clumps of hair on her pillow. Now, Rivera had two clients who faced a double indignity. They were bald and could not afford a wig because they were impoverished and insurance would not pay.
      Son had found a cause.
     Four years earlier, Son’s aunt had died of breast cancer at the age of 46. His voice catches a little when he remembers her. She was the youngest of his mother’s seven siblings. She shared Jangwon Son’s love of art and passed along to him her eye for beauty, which she noticed in everything from nature to the tag sale bargains she turned into treasures.
     “I really loved my aunt,’’ Son said.
     In late February, Son donated about 75 new wigs to the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program.  One client has already been fitted with a wig of long, dark hair, similar to what she lost to her cancer treatment. Rivera said the fitting was combined with a makeover provided by Look Good, Feel Better, a non-profit program that helps women use cosmetics to overcome the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. The woman left the Hispanic Health Council feeling beautiful, Rivera said.
      Rivera said it has been difficult to find words to express her gratitude to Son, who said he is prepared to make further donations to the DIVAS program in the future.
      Son said he has many healthy customers who purchase wigs at his shop for cosmetic reasons and many others who have lost their hair during to cancer treatment. He said he has long been looking for a way to give something back to the community and to his loyal clientele.
      “Anytime I see anybody who needs a wig for losing hair, I try to help,’’ Son said.

As Demand for Cancer Support Grows, Funding is Scarce

See full report on our News page.

Comprehensive, Compassionate Support for Latinas with Cancer

About 15 years ago, a nurse called the Hispanic Health council searching for a Spanish-language support group for a patient diagnosed with cancer. It was then that the Hispanic Health Council recognized the tremendous gaps in support for Latino residents of Greater Hartford diagnosed with cancer. In 1999, with leadership from the council and grassroots community support, the DIVAS “Damas Informadas, Valientes y Airosas Superando el Cancer” or “Informed, Brave, Lively Women who are Overcoming Cancer” started with only enough money for a 10-hour-a week consultant to run the only Spanish-language support program for Latinas diagnosed with all forms of cancer. Sotera Dávila, the patient who pointed out the gap to her cancer nurse a few years earlier, was a charter member.

The DIVAS Latina Cancer Support program has since grown from the Hartford area’s only Spanish-language cancer support group into a comprehensive case management program that includes patient education, transportation, medical interpretation, social support, and referral to other medical services for impoverished Latinas diagnosed with cancer.

Over the years, the DIVAS program has cultivated strong relationships with the region’s three large cancer centers: Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital; Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center; and The Carole and Ray Neag Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Recognizing that early detection offers the best chance for long-term survival, DIVAS also has established a formal agreement with the Partnership for Breast Care at Hartford Hospital which enables the HHC to offer mobile mammography in its building – a location that is comfortable and convenient for its target population. For the past two years, the HHC also has coordinated early detection care for women referred by the Malta House of Care, a mobile health clinic that provides free care to the uninsured and underinsured in Hartford’s lowest-income neighborhoods.

You Can Help

Denise Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS Cancer Support program reports that low-income women undergoing chemotherapy often have difficulty affording high-quality products they need to make them feel more comfortable during treatment. Donations of the following products would be greatly appreciated:

Camisoles (with built-in shelf bra) (sizes medium to extra-large)

Ensure nutritional supplements

Hot/cold packs

Herbal tea

Eucerin hand lotion

Gentle baby shampoo

Wig shampoo and conditioner

Donations must be new and may be delivered to the Hispanic Health Council, 175 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06106, or contact Denise deniser@hispanichealth.com to make arrangements.

For a more complete list of donation opportunities please go to our Donate page.

Helpful Links

In English

American Cancer Society Cancer Facts and Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2009-2011

En Espanol

National Cancer Institute

Medline Plus