ACE Meeting. September 22, 2026. 6:00pm ET, 3:00pm PT. In Hidalgo County, Texas — a community that is 92% Hispanic and carries the highest uninsured rate of any county in the nation — prostate cancer patients face compounding barriers to early detection and support. Drawing on Texas Cancer Registry data, regional screening statistics, and firsthand advocacy experience, this session examines why men in the Rio Grande Valley are diagnosed later and supported less, and makes the case for a face-to-face, culturally grounded support model built in partnership with ZERO Prostate Cancer and UT Health Rio Grande Valley Cancer Surgery Center. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework for reaching underserved patients where digital solutions fall short.
Arnoldo Rodriguez built a successful career as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and later as a sales executive and manager for nationally internationally recognized education companies. As he approached retirement age, he was thriving professionally and personally—and nowhere near ready to slow down. However, in early 2019, Arnoldo was diagnosed with stage 3 follicular lymphoma, a diagnosis that abruptly changed the course of his life. While Arnoldo’s lymphoma journey ultimately had a positive outcome, this was not his first encounter with cancer. In 2010, during his annual physical, his doctor discovered an enlarged prostate, which turned out to be cancerous. Because he was a busy executive managing people throughout the country at the time, he and his clinical team at MD Anderson Cancer Center decided on a radical prostatectomy utilizing DaVinci robotics. This procedure served him well. Having survived that initial battle, he believed he could overcome his lymphoma diagnosis as well. However, the second journey proved far more difficult. Early in his lymphoma treatment, Arnoldo faced severe complications, including pneumonia, COVID-19, pleural effusion, staph infections, and a spinal fracture. Over three years and several rounds of chemotherapy, he experienced two relapses. In late 2021, he qualified for a CAR-T cell therapy clinical trial at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. He and his wife, Teresa—his devoted caregiver—relocated temporarily to Houston for the six-week treatment process. In January 2022, a final PET scan revealed he was in full remission. During his lymphoma treatment, Arnoldo’s clinical team noticed that his previously undetectable PSA levels began to rise slightly. They initiated frequent monitoring until November 2025, when a PET scan confirmed that the prostate cancer had returned. He & Surgery Center in McAllen, Texas. He is currently cancer-free, while continuing to maintain a four-year remission from lymphoma. Arnoldo’s cancer journey inspired him to become a dedicated advocate. He began working with Cancer Nation, sharing his story and the benefits of CAR-T cell therapy during a bilingual webinar in both English and Spanish. He also supported the Cancer Support Community by helping develop a CAR-T cell therapy resource book. In February 2026, he was chosen to participate in a national Latino Cancer Patient Advocacy training program. Arnoldo describes the training and mentorship he received as the “wind beneath my wings” that elevated his advocacy work. While he had already learned how to be his own best advocate, this program allowed him to transition from self-advocacy to advocating for others. He acquired the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to make a meaningful difference in his community, particularly by serving cancer patients who look like him and share the same trauma and pain. Latino Cancer Patient Advocacy has unequivocally defined his platform moving forward.He is currently involved with several cancer advocacy organizations and conducts a monthly prostate cancer support group in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
