Soraya, a 36 year old Latin Grammy winner from Colombia, faced breast cancer and beat it. Now she is a spokeswoman for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and she is reaching out specifically to Latinas.

The following exerpt from the Miami Herald article, “Singer a voice for breast-cancer victims”, explains why it is important to reach out specifically to the Latin community:

Dr. Sandra Franco, co-director of the Memorial Breast Cancer Center at the Memorial Cancer Institute in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines, said some patients who grew up in Latin America fear diagnosis and treatment.

“There is a feeling in these patients that breast cancer is a more deadly disease than it really is,” said Franco, who is Colombian.

Latin American countries don’t have massive breast cancer screening campaigns. Treatment, drugs and support groups are less available than in the United States, she said. The message about early detection isn’t trumpeted. In Colombia, 80 percent of the cancers diagnosed are at an advanced stage, Soraya said.

The article later quotes:

“If there were more campaigns, more media involvement, more celebrity involvement like with Soraya, it would be normal to talk about breast cancer,” Franco said. “The stigma would go away.”

Soraya has dedicated her song “Por Ser Quien Soy” as her survivor song. It can be downloaded on her website in exchange for a $1 donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.