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UNC MEDICAL BULLETIN
Cancer support program, American Cancer Society partner for Latino “Look Good ... Feel Better” sessions The UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program (CCSP) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) co-sponsored the first Latino “Look Good ... Feel Better” (LGFB) program last February. LGFB is a free, non-medical, brand-neutral national public service program created to help individuals with cancer look good, improve their self-esteem, and thereby manage their treatment and recovery with greater confidence. Beth Fogel, resource nurse navigator for the CCSP’s Patient and Family Resource Center, worked with Rosa Mayorga, ACS bilingual mission delivery representative, and Claudia Rojas, Latino clinic manager of the UNC Center for Latino Health, to initiate the program. Mayorga recruited and trained Spanishspeaking cosmetologists, and Rojas recruited Spanish-speaking cancer patients at UNC. Pam Baker, program coordinator for the CCSP Patient and Family Resource Center, oversees the monthly LGFB sessions. “We’ve long had a successful program in English for numerous patients over the years in our Patient and Family Resource Center,” says Baker. “It’s wonderful that we’re now able to offer it in Spanish.” “ACS is very pleased to partner with UNC to offer this beautiful program serving a population of cancer patients in great need,” says Mayorga. “The LGFB Latino sessions at UNC would not be possible without the dedication and expertise of our exceptional cosmetologist volunteers: Nelson Ross, Luz Palomo and Elvia Herrera.” Patient participant Juana Ramirez says (translated from
Citing his parents struggles as new immigrants, Shah has committed as a responsibility to give back to his family, his home country of India, and the U.S. and world. To achieve these civic and scientific goals, Shah sought out experience in the field, working in a polio eradication program after college, and focusing his MD/PhD work on combating malaria in India. Shah intends to become a medical research scientist, focusing on infectious disease, with a goal to “safeguard the health of the world from epidemics.” He has submitted/published ten articles in peer-reviewed journals, received 19 competitive research grants, and created and maintains one of the only two dedicated malaria blogs on the internet (http://topnaman.com). Most recently, he created a social enterprise lab called VeerLabs, LLC. Bae-Jump receives James W. Woods Junior Faculty Award Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, has received the school’s prestigious James W. Woods Junior Faculty Award. The award supports promising young members of the medical school’s clinical faculty early in their academic career.
From left: Claudia Rojas, Latino clinic manager for the UNC Center for Latino Health; Rosa Mayorga, ACS bilingual mission delivery representative; and cosmetologist Elvia Herrera prepare materials for a LGFB session last February. Photo by Dianne Shaw.
Spanish), “You really feel good during these sessions, like a normal person. I recommend to women to take advantage of this opportunity. You will feel different and beautiful. I liked that they encourage people to feel good.” The program has been held quarterly. The remaining 2010 dates are August 16 and November 15. To register, please contact Claudia Rojas at the UNC Center for Latino Health, at (919) 966-5800.
Bae-Jump will receive $3,000 to use at her discretion in support of her research and scholarly activities. Dr. Bae-Jump is a translational scientist with a research focus on novel targeted therapies for endometrial cancer and their interactions with critical cell signaling pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of this disease. She received her both her Doctoral in Pathology and Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Virginia. In 2000 she joined the UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to start her residency training in OB/GYN. After residency she stayed here to complete her fellowship in gynecologic oncology and eventually joined the faculty in 2007. The Woods Award was established through the generosity of the late James Watson Woods, MD, a cardiologist and professor in the School of Medicine from 1953 to 1983.