For Immediate Release: L.E.A.D Filipino and Stanford Cancer Institute Launch Cancer Action Study Exclusively Focused on Filipinos in Santa Clara County
Contact: Dr. Angelica Cortez, 408.614.8734, angelica@leadfilipino.org
August 16, 2022
SAN JOSE, CA – Leadership, Education, Activism, and Dialogue (L.E.A.D Filipino) and the Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) have launched a major regional action study focused exclusively on exploring the attitudes and behaviors of Filipinos and Cancer. The study will be conducted in Santa Clara County.
Among one of the first studies of its kind, L.E.A.D Filipino and SCI’s partnership was prompted by earlier research efforts performed by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with Filipinos in Southern California. By using the same survey instrument, the partnered organizations intend to contribute to the growing body of medical research dedicated to better understanding the knowledge levels, behaviors, and attitudes of Filipinos, California’s largest Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) demographic.
According to the recent 2020 Census, Filipinos constitute 19% of the country’s total Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) population, with an estimated 4.2 million Filipinos in the United States. Of that number, 1.5 million Filipinos reside in California, with Santa Clara County serving as the fourth largest Filipino community in the state at 150,000. While the San Jose/Silicon Valley Area boasts the likes of global technology brands and standing as the world’s innovation capital, disparities across public and private systems of healthcare persist – with minority communities acutely experiencing these barriers to care, high costs of living, and economic burdens spurred by inflation.Â
The Cancer action study is being sponsored by SCI and conducted by L.E.A.D Filipino. Research team members include Abigail Adziz, Jennifer Cayanan, Michelle Nelmida, and Dr. Angelica Cortez with advisory board members Dr. Elywn Cabebe, Dr. Emily Cabebe, Dr. Jennifer Briscoe, Dr. Joan Brown, Dr. Rachel Mesia, and Razelle Buenavista.
The survey is available online at tinyurl.com/filipinxcancerstudy, is voluntary and open to any Filipino individual that is 18 and over living in Santa Clara County.
The survey will run through July 1, 2023.
Read more about our efforts with Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI).
