Additional commitments in the fight against cancer were unveiled today for the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit. The following are focused on halting the spread of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which causes 70% of all cervical cancers. More than half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year – 68,000 in Africa; 77,000 in Latin America; and 245,000 in Asia. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancers among women worldwide causing 288,000 deaths annually.
Ann Maina, a cervical cancer survivor, is the Founder of The Pink Ribbon Initiative in Nairobi, Kenya. Her organization is the first of its kind to undertake a cervical cancer awareness campaign in her country. She experienced first-hand the stigma of the disease, lack of emotional support and education about the causes of cervical cancer. She plans to increase awareness and reduce stigma of the disease.
Maria Ines Marchegiani de Ucke, CEO of Liga Argentina de Lucha Contra el Cancer (LALCEC) of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is establishing a National Free Pap Test Week/Cervical Cancer Screenings to provide free screenings to discover cervix cell changes and early cervical cancers before they cause symptoms. Behind breast cancer, cervical cancer is the number two killer of women in Argentina, and most prevalent among women in rural areas. She plans to provide mobile units used to reach rural areas, establish a National Free Pap Test Week to increase awareness of cervical cancer prevention.
Sarah Maongezi, CEO of the Medical Women Association of Tanzania in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, is launching an awareness campaign for young women in primary schools to promote HPV screenings and vaccinations. Since the HPV vaccine has not yet been introduced in Tanzania, she plans to advocate for the importance of screening, especially in urban and rural schools, by lobbying policymakers. Maongezi plans to reach her goal of successfully raising awareness and improving knowledge of cancer in Tanzania by 2020.
Heather Lane, an employee with Jhpiego in Baltimore, Maryland, is making a commitment to lower the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer among HIV positive women through innovative integration services in the South American country of Guyana. Jhpiego will specifically work with the Guyana government to not only implement its goal of routine screening for HIV, but also require routine HPV screenings during these patients’ visits. In addition, medical professionals will be trained in using a Single Visit Approach (SVA)/Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA), a cost-effective intervention that can be easily implemented in low-resource settings. Coupled with government funding, Jhpiego will campaign to increase cancer awareness and strengthen the quality of referral and monitoring systems of the diagnosed and treated.
Groesbeck Parham, MD, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is making a commitment to significantly reduce cervical cancer mortality by opening more clinics that use the Single Visit Approach (SVA) and the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) across Zambia while ensuring quality of care and appropriate technique. After treating more than 30,000 women at 17 clinics in three years, Parham is working to raise $29 million, expand to 80 clinics and screen a record 80,000 women per year. This quality of care, offered for free, would eventually allow the integration of HPV testing and vaccinations.
Read more about the global commitments made this week and watch the video below to learn more about the LIVESTRONG Global Summit taking place in Dublin this August.
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9 Responses to “Global Commitments to Fight HPV and Cervical Cancer”
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These commitments are fantastic. Is the link between HPV and oral/orapharyngeal cancer included in any of the education? Research shows a connection, but that risk doesn’t seem to be well-known in the general public.
This disease is a silent killer. I just lost a very close frined, mother of two young boys to this horrible silent killer. Thanks so much Livestrong for pitching and helping raise awareness! 4 the fight!
Thank you for this commitment! I had a scare with cervical cancer and I am a forever advocate in HPV and Cervical Cancer education and vaccinations! I just started my vaccinations at age 26…its never too late!
The link between HPV and oral/oropharyngeal cancer is a very important point… Shows that HPV is not only a women`s problem, it can also cause cancer in men. So we shouldn`t only concentrate on women, but try to increase the public awareness for the possibility of a vaccination in both, MEN & WOMEN.
Thank you for covering the topic of HPV and cancer. Many people never realize the all too important link between these two. Here in the United States, there are more than 6.2 million new HPV infections each year, which pales in comparison when looking at this from global scale. Oustide of the U.S., cervical cancer is one of the top cancer killers and takes the lives of many women because they are not able to see doctors or get annual exams. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer and when left undetected or diagnosed, can lead to anal, penile, vaginal, head, neck and throat cancer – so by making people more aware of HPV and the potential threat it poses to the human body – not just at the point of the inital infection, but over the lifetime, is really important. This is a lifelong disease that can be dormant in your system for a very longtime only to reactivate when the immune system is compromised due to stress or illness. The threat is poses to our future fertility and generations is really scary. If there ever was a pandemic to be named, it is HPV!
Thanks for raising awareness!
PJ
10-year cervical cancer/HPV survivor and women’s health advocate
This is a great step in the right direction for HPV awareness and cervical cancer! I recently lost a dear friend and mother of 2 to cervical cancer. In her honor we have founded the SAS Cervical Cancer Foundation. This is a disease that needs world wide awareness and for the stigma to be gone!!
Kellie
Great information!
Alan
Mr. Alan Kaye
National Cervical Cancer Coalition
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