Language barriers make cancer care inaccessible for many Santa Cruz County residents

[Harold Schiffman]

Cancer care is not accessible for many Santa Cruz County residents

By Jondi Gumz - Sentinel staff writer

The doctor's assistant called a patient to remind her about her
appointment, but the call just left the patient frustrated. The
patient spoke Spanish. The doctor's assistant spoke English. When the
patient rolled her wheelchair into the clinic, the receptionist chided
her and said she would be charged $25 for being late. When another
clinic worker walked in, the two of them chatted, ignoring the
patient. When the doctor told the patient, in English, that test
results show she has cancer, the patient, who did not understand
English, appeared confused.

It was play-acting, but for Guadalupe Miranda, Ana Leon, Paula
Placencia and Dorothy Aguilar, who played the parts, the scene was all
too real. They volunteer for Lideres Campesinas, an organization that
uses skits as a way to break through language barriers and share
information about issues such as domestic violence and pesticide
poisoning with farmworker women.

They were among the presenters at a Friday forum in Watsonville
sponsored by the American Cancer Society on access to care. About 90
people attended.

"I hope you got the message," said Elsa Quezada of the Central Coast
Center for Independent Living and the forum moderator.

The number of cancer cases and the mortality rate among Latinos in
Santa Cruz County is higher than the state average.

"It's insurance, not ethnicity," said Dr. George Fisher of the
Stanford Cancer Center.

In Santa Cruz County, 78 percent of Latinos are insured compared to 92
percent of whites. Those who think are covered may discover they
aren't. "If your insurance has a cap of $250,000, that sounds like a
lot of money," Fisher said. "But if you had colon cancer, I'd use that
up in two months and you'd be broke." The Harvard School of Public
Health in 2006 reported that 22 percent of cancer patients with
insurance used up all or most of their savings to fight the disease;
for those without insurance, 46 percent saw their savings vanish. A
study in 2001, before the mortgage crisis, found medical debt was a
leading cause of bankruptcy.

"We're all at risk if we don't have access to the right kind of care,"
said Fisher. "Cancer is a disease of older people and everyone is
getting older." Public policy can make a difference, he added, noting
the drop in lung cancer followed restrictions on smoking. Watsonville
Mayor Kimberly Petersen shared a story. Her mother was diagnosed with
thyroid cancer.

"Luckily, they caught it early," Petersen said.

But her mother faced a three-month delay for the recommended surgery,
even though she had insurance. With the help of her sister, who works
in a hospital, the surgery took place in three weeks.

Chila Correa of WomenCARE introduced a video in which Latinos fighting
cancer told of the barriers they faced: No support group for men,
difficulties getting to chemotherapy appointments and tight budgets
that preclude buying organic fruit and vegetables.

Health policy expert Elinor Hall explained the issues involved in
health care reform and suggested ways for people to be part of that
discussion. They include:

n Joining the American Cancer Society steering committee to advocate
for making cancer a top national priority.

n Signing up for legislative updates; more than 30 health consumer
bills were pending in June in the California Legislature.

n Supporting the Scotts Valley-based Central Coast Alliance for
Health, which provides affordable health insurance for kids 5 and
under. Sponsorships are available. For information, call 430-5500.

For cancer statistics, visit www.nccc.org/cancer_report.html.

For 24-hour cancer information, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

Contact Jondi Gumz at 706-3253 or jgumz at santacruzsentinel.com

http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_10150324?nclick_check=1
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