A New Life for Latinas Affected by Cancer

February 16, 2009 by Elizabeth Beachy  
Filed under Your Stories

While there are many organizations that offer cancer prevention services and participate in cancer prevention campaigns, organizations serving Latina women who have been diagnosed with cancer are few and far between.

When Nueva Vida (New Life) was founded in 1996, it was the only organization in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area to provide support services specifically to Latinas affected by cancer. Many Latinas were becoming lost in the health systems, and only could find limited information about cancer in Spanish. Service providers had difficulty understanding the unique cultural and linguistic challenges that Latina women faced, and rates of early detection of cancer among Latinas were dismally low.

Latina women were slower than other women to get screened for cancer due to lack of information, lack of health insurance, language barriers, and a generalized sense of intimidation by the complex health systems in the United States.

Nueva Vida was formed by a group of Hispanic professionals who were cancer survivors themselves. Intimately aware of the challenges faced by Latina women, they began providing services to increase access to diagnostic, treatment and counseling services. They built partnerships with hospitals, health clinics, and private doctors in the region, and aligned themselves with research and social service organizations that were able to provide discounted or free services to women without health insurance.

Today Nueva Vida offers a range of services including support groups for women affected by cancer, groups for caregivers, and cancer survivors. Their team of 6 certified counselors provides case management and one-on-one counseling services. They conduct community outreach campaigns and organize cancer screening tests for groups of Latina women who otherwise would not get screened. Nueva Vida’s team seeks out the appropriate treatment & payment options for women, and helps them navigate the complex health systems. When women need moral support, help with translation, or transportation to their doctor’s appointments, Nueva Vida personnel or volunteers are available to accompany them.

All services provided by Nueva Vida are completely free of charge, thanks to the organization’s many donors which include private foundations and some international organizations.

In 2008 Nueva Vida helped some 350 Latina women in the DC metropolitan area get screened for cancer, and provided support services to 100 Latina women diagnosed with cancer. As many as 70% of the women who seek help at Nueva Vida speak no English and many would be unable to receive the care they need were it not for the advocacy, support and referrals provided by the organization.

Larisa Caicedo, Nueva Vida’s Executive Director, cites the uniquely Latino environment offered by Nueva Vida as one of the organization’s greatest strengths. Women can receive the information and support they need in Spanish from other women just like them—who understand the unique cultural issues that they might be facing—in an environment of trust and mutual respect.

Ms. Caicedo shares this advice with other service providers: “Collaboration is the most important. Reinventing the wheel doesn’t work. We need to build partnerships to work with specialized organizations, and make sure that we address the community from a culturally-sensitive perspective.”

For more information about Nueva Vida, visit their website at www.nueva-vida.org or send an email to Show email address.

Acceso Hispano is a project of