As we mark International Women’s Day 2025 with its powerful theme #AccelerateAction for gender equality, I find myself reflecting on the incredible resilience and leadership women continue to demonstrate in the fight for equitable healthcare.

At The Latino Cancer Institute (TLCI), a woman-built, women-driven national nonprofit, we see this every day. Women are not merely patients; they are powerful advocates, researchers, and change-makers in the cancer care ecosystem.

As we celebrate the strength and contributions of women worldwide today, I invite you to join TLCI in our ongoing mission to #AccelerateAction for women’s health equity. This International Women’s Day calls on us all to acknowledge effective strategies and elevate their implementation—exactly what TLCI is doing through our research into genomic (tumor) testing access, our advocacy for culturally responsive care, and our work to bridge the digital divide in healthcare.

Together, we can ensure innovation in cancer care reaches every woman, leaving no one behind.

Explore how TLCI is championing health equity through these upcoming events.

Women Advancing Women’s Health: A Breast Cancer Study

Later this month, TLCI will co-facilitate a virtual townhall presenting concerning results from a breast cancer study focused on genomic (tumor) testing access among low-income, primarily Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients. This research exemplifies how women are stepping up for other women, ensuring that language barriers and economic challenges don’t determine who receives life-saving cancer treatments.

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Latinas in the U.S. When women lack access to advanced diagnostics like genomic (tumor) testing, we’re not just putting individual lives at risk; we’re threatening the economic and emotional stability of entire families and communities.

Attend the Virtual Townhall:
March 17, 2025
12:00 – 1:00 pm PST

Register at: https://tinyurl.com/paccstanford

Culture as the Cornerstone of Effective Cancer Care

At SXSW 2025, I’ll be joining the panel “The Big C in Cancer Care: Culture” hosted by Real Chemistry. This conversation couldn’t be more timely for International Women’s Day. Women from diverse backgrounds experience healthcare differently, with cultural factors significantly influencing everything from cancer screening behaviors to treatment adherence.

When healthcare systems fail to recognize these cultural nuances, women suffer disproportionately. By elevating culture as a critical component of cancer care, we’re acknowledging that women’s health experiences are deeply influenced by their cultural contexts and lived experiences.

Catch TLCI at SXSW 2025
Sunday, March 9, 2025
2:30pm – 3:30pm CT
Austin Convention Center / SXSW Expo – Podcast Lounge – Exhibit Hall 3
Let’s push the future of health forward, together. https://bit.ly/3QnlUwT

As we champion cultural responsiveness at SXSW, we’re simultaneously discussing how digital innovations can help close the gaps in healthcare or widen health disparities.

Technology: Promise and Peril for Women’s Health Equity

My recent participation in the HIMSS Health Equity Forum alongside Dr. Chris Gibbons explored “Addressing Health Equity and the Digital Divide.” Our discussion highlighted how technology offers tremendous potential for advancing cancer care—but also risks leaving behind the women who could benefit most if we don’t consciously build inclusive systems. Watch the Replay: HIMSS TV Interview: Technology’s risks and benefits for health equity

On this International Women’s Day, we must remember that technological innovation in cancer care is only truly revolutionary if it reaches all women, regardless of language proficiency, technological literacy, or economic status.

#AccelerateAction: Ensuring No Woman Is Left Behind

This International Women’s Day, let’s commit to more than just acknowledging barriers—we must dismantle them. TLCI is taking action by:
✅ Expanding access to genomic (tumor) testing through research and advocacy
✅ Pushing for culturally responsive cancer care
✅ Bridging the digital divide so that technology benefits all women

Your voice matters in this fight. Whether you’re a patient, caregiver, healthcare provider, or advocate, you can help accelerate change. Connect with us on social media, attend our upcoming events, or support our research initiatives. Together, we can ensure that innovation in cancer care reaches every woman in every community

Ysabel Duron is the Founder of The Latino Cancer Institute, a national organization working to diminish Latino cancer risk through an network of community-based organizations delivering cancer health equity.