Stories about dying too young and enduring excruciating treatments in the hospital didn't seem to move the 130 teenagers who gathered recently in the auditorium at Latino College Prep in East San Jose. But the huge picture of a pulpy human tongue, charred black with tobacco smoke, definitely got their attention. Beneath the photo was the caption: ``Would you kiss a mess like this?''
The kids had plenty of questions about what they called ``the hairy tongue.'' One girl asked if kissing her boyfriend, who is a smoker, was putting her at risk for cancer. Another asked how long you had to smoke before having a tongue like that.
Ysabel Duron, founder of San Jose's Latinas Contra Cancer, sensed that the audience finally was hooked. ``Tell the girls about how smoking dries out your skin!'' she urged Dennis Acha, a speaker from Breathe California. ``Tell them how it will make them look like old ladies!''
Hey, whatever it takes to get through.
Breaking taboos
Duron, who is also an anchor at KRON-TV and a cancer survivor, is determined to send the message to the Latino community that it's time to break cultural taboos about cancer. It's time to speak openly about the disease. So she and a team of speakers have been holding meetings in schools, health centers and even at hotels where Latinos work.
For the past three years Latinas Contra Cancer has sponsored a fundraising walk to bring attention to the need for more awareness about prevention and treatment. This year's Mother's Day walk on Sunday, May 14, from San Jose City Hall to Mexican Heritage Plaza, is focusing on breast and lung cancer and getting teen smokers to quit. Registration begins at 7 a.m., and fees to participate range from $15 to $25.
``I'm trying to let people in the Latino community know that talking about cancer won't kill us, but silence will,'' Duron said. ``There is a real hunger out there for information that's culturally and linguistically sensitive.''
Spreading knowledge
Many in the community still don't know that breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths among Latino women, and Latinas are 20 percent more likely to die of the disease than non-Latino white women.
Though it's no secret that cigarettes cause lung cancer, many don't know about the links between smoking -- including secondhand smoke -- and breast cancer. Also, research released by Santa Clara County shows that Mexican immigrants have the lowest cancer-screening rates compared with other groups.
Maybe getting the word out to teenagers could not only change their behavior but also get the message translated to their parents. In the surveys filled out by the Latino College Prep students during the school assembly, more than half said they had smokers in their families.
Judging by the number of students who came up to talk to Duron and the cancer-awareness speakers after the assembly, the hairy tongue and statistics about death by secondhand smoke had made quite an impression. The question is whether getting scared about cancer will mean more people in the community will learn how to reduce their risk and go to the doctor to get checked out.
Duron is aiming for the Latinas Contra Cancer Mother's Day walk to become an institution in San Jose. She is hoping it will save lives.