Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos (Day of The Dead): November 1-2, 2012

As many of you probably know, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday that is celebrated in much of Latin America and in other cultures around the world, is next Thursday-Friday (November 1-2, 2012). The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember loved ones who have died, and traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased and visiting graves with gifts.

 
The Day of the Dead represents a unique opportunity to reflect on the toll of tobacco in our families and our communities, particularly in light of the holiday's growing popularity in the U.S. According to a 2011 article published by the Associated Press, Day of the Dead celebrations have expanded in Latino and non-Latino communities alike in recent years.

If you are involved in a Day of the Dead event or get-together, or if you are simply interested in discussing tobacco-related issues with Spanish-speaking friends in your community this week, we hope that you will consider sharing  this Spanish-language ad containing English subtitles. Produced by the California Department of Health Services, the ad draws on imagery associated with the Day of the Dead to promote quitline services and raise awareness about the harmful impact of tobacco industry practices in our communities.  

Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PswYlIbcnOU
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com

New study Finds Lesbians Not Accessing Cancer screenings

According to an October 23, 2012, Baltimore Sun article, posted below, a new study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that 38% of lesbians polled by the university indicated they do not receive routine Pap smears, compared to 13% of women overall. The study also found that women were more than twice as likely to receive routine cervical cancer screening if they were open with their doctor about their sexual orientation. “We know that HPV can be transmitted during same-sex sexual activity, so lesbians are at risk of developing cervical cancer," the the study’s author, J Kathleen Tracy said. "If these women aren’t screened, they are at increased risk of getting this type of cancer by missing opportunities to identify precursor cervical abnormalities that can be treated.”

Gay women not getting tested for cervical cancer

correction: An earlier posting misstated the percentage of lesbians who had not received pap tests compared to all women. The Sun regrets the error.

Many gay women are not being screened for cervical cancer, putting them at increased risk of developing the potentially fatal disease, according to new research by the University of Maryland School of Medicine

 

Nearly 38 percent of about 1,000 lesbians polled by University of Maryland researchers had not received routine pap smears to screen for cervical cancer. In comparison, Centers for Disease Control data shows that 13 percent of women overall had not had a pap test in the last three years.

Gay women may not be comfortable talking to doctors about their sexual orientation, said the study’s author, J. Kathleen Tracy, an associate professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a researcher at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

Women who were open with their doctors about their sexual orientation were more than twice as likely to get a routine cervical cancer screening, the study found.

“We know that HPV can be transmitted during same-sex sexual activity, so lesbians are at risk of developing cervical cancer," Tracy said. "If these women aren’t screened, they are at increased risk of getting this type of cancer by missing opportunities to identify precursor cervical abnormalities that can be treated.”

Cervical cancer can be prevented with regular checkups. Doctors use pap tests to look for abnormal cells that could lead to the cancer.

Tracy released the study's findings at the 11^th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted HPV virus.

The study found that the two common reasons women did not get pap tests was that they didn't not have a physician or a referral from a physician.

Posted at The Baltimore Sun  http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bal-gay-woman-cervical-cancer,0,2932320.story

Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com

Point Foundation Invites Applications for LGBTQ Student Scholarships

The Point Foundation has announced that its scholarship application process will open online November 1, 2012.

Point Scholarships are designed to help promising LGBTQ students achieve their full academic and leadership potential despite obstacles. Scholars must demonstrate academic excellence, leadership skills, community involvement, and financial need. Attention also will be paid to students who have lost the financial and social support of their families and/or communities as a result of revealing their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Point Scholars must agree to maintain a high level of academic performance and to give back to the LGBTQ community through the completion of an individual community service project each year. Some Point Scholars also benefit from internship opportunities related to their fields of study.

Scholarships provide approximately $25,000 per scholar, per year. Each scholar is paired with a mentor and participates in leadership development training with fellow Point Scholars, including an annual leadership conference. After graduating, Point Scholars become part of Point's growing alumni network. Point Scholarships are awarded on a "last provider" basis, providing funding to supplement other scholarships, grants, loans, work/study programs, etc. Point Scholars must secure as much outside funding as possible.

Students who will be enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs for the 2013-14 school year are eligible to apply for the multiyear scholarships. Applications will be reviewed by a team of forty-five trained educators, school counselors, and foundation staff and board members. The selection process concludes with face-to-face interviews with Point's staff and Board of Regents during May 2013. The 2013 Point Scholar Class will be announced in June 2013.

Individuals may nominate a student online and download an application information flyer. Applicants will have until 11:59 p.m. PST on January 14, 2013, to submit Part I of the application. Qualifying applicants will be invited to then submit Part II of the application. Part II will made available November 2, 2012, and remain open until 11:59 p.m. PST, January 28, 2013. Applications are only accepted online.

Visit the Point Foundation Web site for complete program information and the online nomination and application forms.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Posted at http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=398100003

Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com

Click here to sign Philip's petition, "Catholic Health Partners, Cincinnati OH: Meet with Us in Person and Give Us Their Stroke Protocol".

State bans "gay-repair" therapy for minors

Brown signs bill to bar controversial treatment

By Wyatt Buchanan Updated 11:07 p.m., Saturday, September 29, 2012 Posted at: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-bans-gay-repair-therapy-for-minors-3906032.php#ixzz28FmTabjChttp://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-bans-gay-repair-therapy-for-minors-3906032.php

California has become the first state in the country to ban controversial therapy practices that attempt to change the sexual orientation of minors after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to outlaw them Saturday.

The bill, SB1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), bars mental health practitioners from performing so-called reparative therapy, which professional psychological organizations have said may cause harm. Gay rights groups have labeled them dangerous and abusive.

"This bill bans non-scientific 'therapies' that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery," Brown said in a statement to The Chronicle.

Brown approved the ban after the public release of two other lists of bills signed and vetoed earlier Saturday. Lieu's bill is expected to appear on a new list to be released Sunday.

The signing came as Brown nears his Sunday night deadline to consider legislation on his desk.

Fierce lobbying

National gay rights organizations had been lobbying the governor intensely to sign the therapy ban. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organization, sent Brown a petition with nearly 50,000 signatures urging him to approve the measure.
"LGBT youth will now be protected from a practice that has not only been debunked as junk science, but has been proven to have drastically negative effects on their well-being. We commend Gov. Brown for putting children first, and call on all states to take California's lead on this issue," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Penalty for therapists

Under the new law, which will take effect Jan. 1, no mental health provider will be able to provide therapy that seeks "to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex."
Mental health professionals who violate the law, which applies to therapy for patients younger than 18, will be subject to discipline by whatever group licenses them.
The therapy often starts from the premise that a person's childhood and parental upbringing has somehow left that person deficient and thus has led him or her to same-sex attractions. Practitioners often are religious, and gay rights groups have derisively characterized the therapy as an attempt to "pray away the gay."

 

Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com