Happy September !
September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the throat. The gland uses iodine, a mineral found in some foods and in iodized salt, to help make several hormones that control heart rate, body temperature, metabolism, and the amount of calcium in the blood.
According to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), 43,720 people living in the United States will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer and 2,120 will die of the disease in 2023. The five-year relative survival rate for this type of cancer is 98.5 percent.
There are four main types of thyroid cancer: papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common type, accounting for roughly 85 percent of all diagnoses, according to the NCI. If diagnosed early, the cure rates for this type of thyroid cancer are high.
Follicular thyroid cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed type of thyroid cancer, accounting for approximately 10 percent of diagnoses. It begins in follicular cells and usually grows slowly. This type of cancer is also highly treatable if diagnosed early enough.
Medullary thyroid cancer develops in the thyroid’s C cells, which make a hormone called calcitonin that helps maintain calcium levels in the blood. This rare cancer occurs in nearly everyone with a certain gene mutation. Blood testing can usually detect the presence of this altered gene.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer is a very rare and aggressive type of thyroid cancer that usually affects those over age 60. This type of cancer grows and spreads quickly, and is difficult to treat.
Exposure to radiation and a family history of thyroid issues are risk factors for thyroid cancer. Women are diagnosed with thyroid cancer significantly more often than men.
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National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins each year on Sept. 15, celebrates U.S. Latinos, their culture and their history. Started in 1968 by Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week, it was expanded to a month in 1988. The celebration begins in the middle rather than the start of September because it coincides with national independence days in several Latin American countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica celebrate theirs on Sept. 15, followed by Mexico on Sept. 16, Chile on Sept. 18 and Belize on Sept 21.
Here are some key facts about the nation’s Latino population by geography, and by characteristics like language use and origin group.
°The U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.5 million in 2021, up from 50.5 million in 2010.
°Hispanics have played a major role in driving U.S. population growth over the past decade. The U.S. population grew by 23.1 million from 2010 to 2021, and Hispanics accounted for 52% of this increase – a greater share than any other racial or ethnic group. The number of non-Hispanic people who identify with two or more races increased by 8.3 million during this time, accounting for 36% of the overall U.S. population increase.
°The number of Latinos who say they are multiracial has increased dramatically. Almost 28 million Latinos identified with more than one race in 2021, up from just 3 million in 2010. The increase could be due to a number of factors, including changes to the census form that make it easier for people to identify with multiple races and growing racial diversity that results in more Latinos identifying as multiracial.
°People of Mexican origin accounted for nearly 60% (or about 37.2 million people) of the nation’s overall Hispanic population as of 2021. Those of Puerto Rican origin are the next largest group, at 5.8 million (another roughly 3.1 million Puerto Ricans live on the island as of 2021).
°The fastest population growth among U.S. Latinos has come among those with origins in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Guatemala. From 2010 to 2021, the Venezuelan-origin population in the U.S. increased 172% to 660,000, by far the fastest growth rate. Three other groups saw growth rates exceeding 50% between 2010 and 2021: Dominicans increased by 59%, followed by Hondurans (57%) and Guatemalans (53%).
°By contrast, the number of people of Mexican origin grew only 13% from 2010 to 2021, by far the smallest rate of increase among the top origin groups. At 15%, the Bolivian origin population saw the slowest growth rate among other groups with at least 100,000 Latinos in 2021.