HEALTH: Mamogram followups often take longer for Asian women

Asian/American women, particularly Filipinas and Vietnamese, often take twice as long than white women to receive follow-up exams after an abnormal screening mammogram. 

Many population-based breast cancer studies do not include Asians, and those that do often report them as a single group. 

To study the relationship between breast cancer screening and outcomes in multiple Asian populations, a team led by Drs. Kim Hanh Nguyen and Leah Karliner, both of the University of California, San Francisco examined information from the San Francisco Mammography Registry. 

The investigators examined data on 50,970 San Francisco-area women with mammogram results from 2000-2010 that indicated the need for further diagnostic imaging. Among Asian/American women, Vietnamese and Filipinas had the longest—and Japanese the shortest—median time to follow-up imaging tests (32, 28, and 19 days, respectively) compared with non-Hispanic White women (15 days).

The proportion of women receiving follow-up tests at 30 days was lower for Asians than for non-Hispanic Whites (57 percent versus 77 percent), and these disparities persisted at 60 and 90 days for all Asian ethnic groups except Japanese women. Asian women also had a higher rate of no follow-up at one year than non-Hispanic Whites (15 percent versus 10 percent), with Filipinas having the highest percentage of no follow-up among Asian ethnic groups (18 percent).

“The reasons for these long delays may be due to linguistic, cultural and other barriers that affect patient-provider communication for disadvantaged Asian groups,” said Dr. Nguyen. “More research attention is needed to understand the specific reasons for these differences.”

By 2060 the projected number of US residents who will identify as Asian or Asian with another race will reach 48.6 million, or 11.7 percent of the total population.

“Rather than being a monolithic group, Asians are, in fact, very diverse in nationalities, language, immigration history, education, and economic background. Recognizing differences among Asians may help clinicians develop better rapport and communication with their Asian patients, which can improve adherence to screening recommendations,” said Dr. Nguyen.

“The misconception of the model minority suggesting Asians are doing better than other minorities is insensitive to disparities that exist for Asians and undermines the need to address such disparities.”

Police crackdown on Asian/American street gang nets 23 arrests

A POLICE crackdown on a Vietnamese street gang operating out of the San Francisco Bay Area resulted in 23 arrests, recovery of 69 gambling machines, 420 lbs of marijuana, one alligator and possibly, the end of the career of one law enforcement officer.

San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia, joined by representatives of the FBI and DEA, detailed the multi-agency operation in a Wednesday news conference Wednesday, one day after the shocking announcement of the arrest of Officer Derrick Antonio for allegedly collaborating with gang members.

"We've been hearing about the Vietnamese gangs and illegal activities in coffee shops for a long time, and I'm glad they arrested these people," City Councilman Manh Nguyen told the San Jose Mercury News. "I'm calling for Vietnamese residents to fully cooperate with the police to fight crime."

Garcia described the investigation, dubbed "Operation Gang of Thrones," that began last March and drew in assistance from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Milpitas Police Department, Santa Clara Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office, and the Louisiana State Police, which served search warrants and arrest warrants at various locations in the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Fremont, Anaheim, and an undisclosed location in the State of Louisiana.

This collaborative investigation resulted in the arrest of 23 suspects who are known members or associates of a criminal street gang in San Jose. The suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on charges ranging from extortion, public corruption, narcotic trafficking, assault, illegal gun possession, and conspiracy. Two of the suspects were arrested in Anaheim, California, by the Orange County Sheriff's Office. There are 6 suspects at large for various felonies, including; Conspiracy, Accessory After the Fact, Narcotics and Gambling.

A total of 34 search warrants were served during this investigation in California and one in Louisiana. The following evidence was seized:

• 5 handguns
• 69 illegal gambling machines
• Over $200,000 in US Currency
• Body armor, jewelry, phones, computers, and financial records
• Investigators also recovered over 4000 Ecstasy pills, 300 Xanax pills, 200 Molly tablets, illegal steroids, over 600 pounds of Marijuana (420 lbs of which was seized by the Louisiana State Police in transit from San Jose)
• Several vehicles were also seized; which included one with a hidden compartment containing $100,000
• One 4-foot long alligator

During the course of the investigation, SJPD was alerted to the possible criminal involvement of a San Jose Police Officer. Upon learning this information, SJPD took immediate action by implementing extraordinary investigative measures to determine the extent of the officer's involvement in this criminal investigation.

The investigation revealed that SJPD Officer Derrick Antonio, a 9-1/2 year veteran, was providing confidential law enforcement information to members of a criminal street gang in San Jose. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office reviewed the investigation and issued warrants for Officer Antonio's arrest on charges that he leaked sensitive information to the gang members.

On Monday, Aug. 22, Officer Antonio was arrested in the City of San Jose by members of the SJPD's Criminal Investigations Detail. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on the above charges. Officer Antonio has been on paid administrative leave since June 2016."

"Today is a sad day for all of us who proudly and honorably don our SJPD uniform each day to serve the residents of our city," reads a statement from the San Jose Police Officers' Association. "If the accusations leveled against Derrick Antonio are found to be true, then he ought to be held accountable for his actions and for disparaging our profession."

The fate of the pet alligator was not clarified in the press conference.

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For more news about Asian/Americans or Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Vietnamese/Americans can relate to plight of Syrian refugees look back

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Vietnam any way they could.

FOUR DECADES ago, there was another refugee crisis. The sight of Syrian refugees flee their war-torn country has caused a sense of deja vu among the Vietnamese who left Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. They moved to help the new boat people. 

After the fall of Vietnam, millions of Vietnamese who supported the Saigon regime or sided with the Americans, fled their country. Many were rescued by U.S. Navy ships, others flew out on airplanes provided by the U.S. Over 800,000 escaped in boats.

Many were sent to refugee camps in the Philippines and other countries to be resettled around the world. Some sailed from country to country seeking a place that would accept them. The United States took in over 125,000 of the Viet refugees in 1976 alone. Eventually, 750,000 found their way to the United States.

"I want to see what we can do to help the Syrians because that is us," said Tom Q. Nguyen, a Fountain Valley, California business owner whose mother and sister died at sea in the 1980s.

Seeing the plight of refugees fleeing Syria gave flashbacks to many Vietnamese who went through that ordeal after the fall of Saigon.

Decades later, the former refugees have done relatively well, many have established themselves in America as business owners, excelled in school, run for office and contributed to the betterment of their communities.

So now, the Syrians' plight has touched a nerve with Vietnamese. Viet communities in Canada and the U.S. are fundraising to help the Syrian refugees.

Germany has taken in hundreds of thousands as have other European nations. The U.S. has announced plans to take in 10,000 additional Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year. Secretary of State John Kerry has said the U.S. will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year, and up to 100,000 in 2017.

The U.S. can do more. In 1975, about 400,000 Eastern Europeans came to the U.S. after World War II and 650,000 Cubans were resettled, mostly in Florida, when Castro came to power.

“As Vietnamese Americans, I feel we have a moral responsibility to help these people,” says Duc Nguyen, 51, an Emmy award-winning film maker. “Others helped us when we were in that situation. Now it is time to pay it forward.”