Transcript Educating Young Women & Parents About Cervical Cancer Prevention

Empowering Women in Your
Community Through Cervical
Cancer Awareness
Advocate Training Module
Who Are We?
Illinois Women Against Cervical Cancer is a
group of concerned individuals and organizations
including the Illinois Department of Public Health Center
for Minority Health Services and the Illinois Public Health
Association. Our goal is to eliminate cervical cancer by
educating women about the prevention and detection of
cervical cancer and HPV.
Your Role
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Begin healthy dialogue with families in your
community
Influence young women to make smart
healthcare decisions
To encourage our sisters, mothers, daughters,
aunts, grandmothers and girlfriends to get
screened for cervical cancer
To empower women of all ages with the
knowledge to prevent cervical cancer
Today’s Agenda
What are your expectations for this training?
• Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors
• Hard facts about HPV and cervical cancer
• Barriers to cervical cancer screening
• IWACC communication tool kit
• Learn, laugh and motivate!!!
Knowledge, Attitudes & Behaviors
ABOUT HEALTH
Lack of knowledge
 Passivity, fear and fatalism
 Inaction
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 The
good news: as knowledge increases,
so does willingness to take action
Knowledge, Attitudes & Behaviors
ABOUT CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE
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Open mindedness, despite lack of knowledge1,2
Lack of knowledge, however, fertile ground for
misinformation
Much better acceptance if explained as cancer
prevention vs. STD prevention
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Communication needs to appeal to women’s selfinterest -- what’s really at stake here?
1. Davis K, Dickman ED, Ferris D, Dias JK. Human
papillomavirus vaccine acceptability among parents of 10- to
15-year-old adolescents. The Medical College of Georgia,
Augusta, GA
2. Zimet GD.Improving adolescent health: focus on HPV
vaccine acceptance. Department of Pediatrics, Indiana
University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
New Health Care Model
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Old
Treat illness
Someone else pays
most costs
Few incentives to lower
costs or increase quality
of care
Result:
Runaway health care
costs and undesirable
outcomes/quality of care
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New
Prevent illness
Consumer paying higher
percentage of costs
More incentives to lower
costs and improve
quality of care
Future Goal:
Slow rate of cost
increases and improve
outcomes/quality of care
New Healthcare Outlook
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More aggressive attempts -- even mandates -- to
reduce rates of cancer and other illnesses
 Tobacco lawsuits, no smoking ordinances
 Anti-obesity measures (trans fats, etc.)
Actions to reduce societal costs of treating disease
In medical, scientific and business communities,
more incentives to find new ways to prevent illness
and control costs
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Result: We will see new ways to intercept illness early in life
-- because it will save money and improve health
Cervical Cancer in the U.S.
12,000+ New Cases
 4,000+ Deaths
 Five-year relative survival rate for localized
stage: 92%
 Five-year relative survival rate for all
stages combined: 72%
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Cervical Cancer in Our
Communities
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Black women are twice as likely as white
women to be diagnosed with cervical
cancer
Black women have the highest cervical
cancer death rate of any group of women
in the U.S.
Importance of Early Detection
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Early detection of abnormal cell changes or
cervical cancer greatly increases a woman’s
chance of survival. Survival for women with preinvasive lesions is nearly 100%. Invasive
cervical cancer, when detected at an early stage,
is one of the most successfully treatable cancers
with a 5-year survival rate of 92%
Cervical Cancer Prevention
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Cervical cancer is one of the few women’s cancers
that can be prevented
A disease that’s very costly to society but relatively
easy to stop through inexpensive interventions
 Pap tests
 New cervical cancer vaccine -- can cut the 6.2
million cases of annual HPV infection in half and
significantly reduce the number of cervical
cancer cases
 HPV tests
About Cervical Cancer
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Cervix: lower part of womb connected to
vagina
Deadly and common disease
disproportionately affecting women of color
and/or low income
What is HPV?
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Cervical cancer is almost always caused by a
common virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV)
There are over 100 kinds of HPV but only a dozen
or so are linked with cervical cancer these are
“high-risk” HPV
HPV is usually harmless
If you have high-risk HPV it does NOT mean you
will get cervical cancer. Most women who have
HPV will NOT develop cancer
Kinds of HPV
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Over 100 types
High risk
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Cancer causing
Types 16 and 18 cause 70% cases of cervical cancer
Also associated with some head and neck cancers
Low risk
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Genital warts
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Types 6 and 11 cause 90% cases
Modes of Transmission
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Skin-to-skin contact
 Vaginal
intercourse
 Anal and oral sex
About Cervical Cancer
Vaccine
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A series of three injections over six months
Not recommended for pregnant women
Duration of immunity is still unclear
Preliminary evidence that it may also
prevent head and neck cancers
About Cervical Cancer
Vaccine
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Vaccine intercepts HPV before it causes
infection
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HPV usually acquired during initial sexual
experiences
Young women between 14-25 have highest
rates of HPV infection -- more than 4 million a
year in U.S.
74 percent of all new cases among American
women acquired between ages 15-24
45 percent of women 20-24 already have HPV
infection
About Cervical Cancer
Vaccine
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These statistics support the rationale
behind having young girls receive the
vaccine
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Vaccine immunizes before young women have
sexual contact
As a result, young women don’t become
infected with HPV and become at-risk for
cervical cancer
About Pap Tests
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Pap tests have saved countless lives since
introduction in 1950s
Detects cell changes at early, treatable stage
Not the same as a pelvic exam!
All women should receive regular Pap tests, even if
they receive vaccine
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Vaccine not a replacement of Pap tests -- an
enhancement
Where to Go and How to Pay
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Where
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Doctor’s office or public health clinic, including
family planning clinics
How to pay
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Private insurance plans
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May have co-pay or deductible
Medicaid
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Vaccine free for girls 12-18 meeting household lowincome requirements
Pap free for all women who meet indications
Overcoming Objections
TO THE VACCINE
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“My daughter doesn’t need it -- she’s too
young” or “My daughter will think it’s OK to
have sex.”
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Your response: Receiving the new vaccine now gives your
daughter the best chance of having a cervical cancer-free
future. Without the vaccine, many young women will obtain
the HPV virus, which can cause cervical cancer. Before the
vaccine was available, researchers estimated that more than
4 million women in their teens and early 20s obtained the
virus each year. For the vaccine to work, young women must
receive the vaccine before having sexual contact. Don’t use
this important cancer-prevention method to discourage sex;
there are many better ways to discourage sex
Overcoming Barriers
VACCINE
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“The vaccine costs too much”
 Your response: The costs are often
covered by private insurance or Medicaid
Overcoming Barriers
VACCINE
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“The vaccine is not needed if regular Pap tests are
taken”
 Rather than preventing cervical cancer like the
vaccine can, a Pap test detects precancerous
cells or cervical cancer. A diagnosis of cancer will
require treatment that may cause disability or
financial hardship. For example, follow-up care for
abnormal Pap test results costs the healthcare
system $6 billion a year5
 The vaccine can eliminate the chance of an
abnormal Pap test
5. Dailard, C. 2006. Achieving Universal
Vaccination Against Cervical Cancer In the United
States: The Need and the Means. Guttmacher
Policy Review, Vol. 9, No. 4.
Overcoming Barriers
VACCINE
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Vaccine is unsafe
 The
vaccine was tested on thousands of
patients before receiving FDA approval.
Millions of Americans have received the
vaccine, and it has been approved in more
than 70 countries worldwide.
 In some cases, minor side effects
 Vaccine is not a live virus
Most Important Messages
SUMMARY
Cervical cancer can cause death, disability and the inability to have
children
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There are two ways to stop cervical cancer: the cervical cancer vaccine
and the Pap test
The vaccine prevents cancer. Young women should get it as soon as
possible after they turn age 12 -- the vaccine works best this way.
The Pap test can detect precancerous cells or cancer at an early,
treatable stage. Women should receive regular Pap test throughout life,
even if they get the vaccine
Make an appointment today; insurance or public health often cover the
costs
Delicate Messages
SUMMARY
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Studies show that women are much more receptive to
preventing cancer vs. preventing an STD
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Explain the vaccine as a cancer prevention, not an STD
prevention
If they don’t get the vaccine, many if not most young
women will acquire HPV during their teen years
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Explain that the vaccine works best when it is received as close
to age 12 as possible -- without getting too clinical about the
reasons
Communications Toolkit
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http://www.livecancerfree.org/ct.html
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Direct mailer
Poster
Flyer
Brochure
Fact sheet and pledge card
Op-ed article
Thank You!
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Next steps
Resources
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See Web site -http://www.livecancerfree.org/ccped_7.html
Q&A