It’s a running joke in the Latinx community that we don’t go to doctors because they will always find something wrong with us. We make excuses, wait for the symptoms to clear out naturally, and use remedios caseros (natural remedies) passed down by our ancestors. We only make our way to the doctor only when we’ve exhausted all other options.
From Dismissing Pain to Urgent Care
Prior to my diagnosis, if you asked me if I fell into this category I would say absolutely not, but this is actually how I put off finding my cancer.
During the summer of 2021, I was experiencing symptoms that I could no longer ignore. I had changes in menstruation and pain so strong that I was unable to move; any movement would exacerbate the pain, so I curled up into a ball and would wait for it to go away.
Like clockwork, the first day of my period was now paired with a call into work and a day spent in bed until I was able to move again. I explained it away by telling my husband that it was probably because I was getting older.
“This is what happens when you get older, right? More stuff starts to hurt?” This went on for months until my husband finally said that my pain could not be normal. He called the nurse hotline and within 30 minutes we were in urgent care.
Why Latinx Communities Postpone Medical Care
Delaying medical attention seems to be a common thread among other Latinx individuals who choose to suffer in silence rather than reach out to a medical professional for support and relief from our symptoms.
For me, this was due to a general distrust of the healthcare system. After being turned away when I saw my provider for a bulge in my belly that turned out to be my tumor, I fabricated alternate and irrational explanations for my pain.
But sadly stigma and distrust aren’t the only reasons why Latinx individuals choose to delay care.
The current political climate and racial profiling that is ongoing, especially where I live in Southern California, is a factor preventing many Latinx individuals, particularly those who are undocumented, from leaving their homes for nonessential reasons.
Add to that the lack of insurance or underinsurance, limited healthcare literacy, language barriers, and the financial burden of healthcare-related costs and we have the makings of a catastrophe for a Latinx individual who receives a gynecologic (GYN) cancer diagnosis.
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Disparities in GYN Cancer Outcomes for Latinx Communities
It should then come as no surprise that, Latinx people are receiving GYN cancer diagnoses at a later stage and suffer from higher mortality rates when compared with members of other races (Gynecologic Oncology, 2014).
According to the American Cancer Society (2024), Latinx people have a 36 percent higher incidence rate of cervical cancer than their White counterparts. Cervical cancer is one of the 5 types of GYN cancers, and is largely preventable through vaccination or regular HPV screenings.
When it comes to uterine cancer, diagnoses among White individuals have remained steady, while occurrence in the Latinx population increases around 3 percent each year and comes with a mortality rate that is double that of White individuals with the same diagnosis (American Cancer Society, 2024).
Access to life-saving information that is presented in our language and using terminology that is easily digestible is urgently needed to begin to normalize routine care and address outcome disparities for individuals in the Latinx community who receive a gynecologic cancer diagnosis.
Clearly, the translated pamphlet in doctors’ offices aren’t enough, and the medical system needs to do better.
Breaking Barriers and Building Community
Despite my privilege as a first-generation Mexican American, fluent in English, and who holds a graduate degree, the healthcare system was undeniably difficult to navigate, and still is!
Nonetheless, I feel a sense of responsibility to speak up for those in my community who can’t. By sharing my story with endometrial stromal sarcoma and highlighting the systemic barriers that create healthcare disparities and unfavorable outcomes among Latinx individuals with a GYN cancer diagnosis, I hope to continue to do my part to support my community.
And if there’s anything we have, it’s each other. Although Latinx individuals typically have lower levels of social and emotional support following a cancer diagnosis (Philip, L, et al., 2023), there is a growing community of Latinx Breasties that are ready and eager to offer support.
We don’t have to suffer in silence and it is up to us as the new generation of Latinx GYN previvors, survivors and thrivers to refute generational curses and stand together with our allies to demolish the silos that are harming us.
📖 RELATED: Breaking the Silence: A Fight for Health, History & Truth
