Hollywood image makers tend to create one-dimensional figures of celebrity stars. It takes effort to break free from being a cardboard product to being a three-dimensional human being. Eva Longoria, best known for her role as sexy Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives, and more recently, for the Maxim magazine cover that can be seen from space, is both beauty and brains, and struggling with the media focus on issues that to her seem irrelevant. She would much rather speak about serious issues -- such as PADRES Contra El Cancer, parents against cancer, an organization committed to improving the quality of life for Latino children with cancer and their families -- than publicly talk about her personal sex life. Longoria is the PADRES spokeswoman.

In 1985, PADRES was created when two American Cancer Society research studies reported that culturally relevant educational and emotional support services for the Latino patient were missing in the medical community. While PADRES is oriented to the Latino community, and serving predominantly Spanish-speaking people living with cancer, childhood cancer patients from all races and ethnic origins are welcome. According to PADRES, the organization, located in Southern California, is the only Latino organization of its kind operating within the United States. To learn more about PADRES, go here.