By Iya Bakare –

Leticia Rodarte admits her paintings subconsciously reveal her relationships with nature in the past and the present. One painting in particular ironically foretold her future: a diagnosis of cervical cancer.

“I’ve sat down to dinner with death before,” says Rodarte.

Rodarte is one of many Hispanic women who have the highest rates of new cases of cervical cancer and the second highest death rate from it, behind African-American women, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Cervical cancer develops and forms at the opening of the womb in the female productive system.

The Center for Disease Control sites 13 Hispanic women per 100,000 women in the United States contract cervical cancer. In Illinois, 14 Latina women per 100,000 women have the disease. There are 12 African-American women per 100,000 women and 8 Caucasian women per 100,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer in Illinois.

“Like a cold, cancer runs rampant all over the country,” says Jacqueline Miller, medical director of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program for the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. “Pap testings on a routine basis can help prevent cervical cancer.”

Miller says Hispanic women are not getting Pap examinations, which detects abnormalities in a female’s reproductive system, as frequently as other ethnic groups. A lack of health insurance, which results in the lack of a routine physician or access to health care, is another reasons why cervical cancer is more prominent among Hispanic women.

Miller says the increase in cervical cancer in the Latina community is a multifocal issue. A lack of education about the disease, such as not understanding literature in clinics, is a huge barrier. Some of those who have a language barrier are immigrants from other Spanish-speaking countries.

“If they can’t read it, then it’s no good to them,” says Miller.

Miller, along with the Center for Disease Control, works with Inside Knowledge, a national program that provides free cervical and breast cancer screening for individuals 250 percent or more below the poverty rate. The program educates women in English and Spanish on all types of cancer such as ovarian, vaginal, vulvar, uterine and cervical.

“The purpose of the program… (is) to inform women about the diseases and the symptoms of them, and encourage women to take care of their bodies,” says Miller. “We also want to give information to the providers to make sure patients have a better encounter with their physicians.”

Miller says parents also need to break the cultural taboo and talk to their daughters about their bodies and the importance of human papilloma virus (HPV) testing, which also helps to prevent cervical cancer.

“We need to get away from thinking about this vaccine in a sexual content,” says Miller. “HPV doesn’t mean you’re sexually promiscuous; the test prevents an infection that can occur. You can talk about it and you don’t have to mention sex.”

Diagnosed last year at the age of 32, Rodarte says she has experienced other health issues and learned through it all that women should listen to their bodies. As a result of her experience with the disease, Rodarte is using her art to educate the public. She is producing a free brochure to inform women about cervical cancer, which features her artwork and literature that women, especially Latina women, can relate to and understand.

“I guess you really have to love what you’re doing and know you’re helping people, which motivates you to make time for it,” says Rodarte.

An artist by day, Rodarte also earns part of her living as a full-time overnight employee at Home Depot.

“Letty is one of the only people that can call me at 7 a.m. after getting out of work from the Home Depot late shift, and get me to crawl out of bed and down the street for breakfast on my day off,” says Angela Scalisi, a fellow artist.

Both women use the artist space at Casa Aztlan, a community center in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.

Although Scalisi says she did not know Rodarte when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, she has come to know Rodarte very well within the last few months.

“I believe she is a motivated self-starter who is driven to make things happen,” says Scalisi. “She has a solid heart, beautiful soul and cares a great deal about the women in her life. She is a survivor and a fighter.”

For Rodarte, her illness was a battle she fought alone. Rodarte says she decided to keep her diagnosis a secret, although she thinks her co-workers had an idea something was not right with Rodarte.

“Nobody in my family knew because I am very private about my health, no matter what it is,” says Rodarte.

When she was diagnosed, Rodarte says her doctor told her the precancerous cells were in stage three and the best procedure to treat it was to perform a loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), which uses a low-voltage wire loop to cut out abnormal tissue in the cervix.

“They took as much as they could from my cervix to make sure the damaged part was destroyed, but they also tried to remove as little as possible because I am planning to have children,” says Rodarte.

Rodarte says she realizes there is a chance precancerous cells can return, but says she also realizes she must follow-up with doctor visits.

“Other than that, I am doing great,” says Rodarte.