Read the full Health Day article.

HPV prevention has become a concern for both men and women. Receiving an HPV vaccine before becoming sexually active is the leading way to prevent the disease. Vaccines have been approved and recommended for teen girls since 2006, but less than a third of all teenage girls have completed the three doses by 2010. Vaccines were just recommended for teen boys last year so statistics are unavailable.

The study found men are more likely than women to contract HPV oral cancer and women are at higher risk for HPV anal cancer. HPV causes over a third of penile cancers, two-thirds of oral cancers and over 90% of anal cancers.

Read the full WebMD article.

However, final guidelines recently published on cervical cancer screening by the USPSTF are being met with general agreement according to recommendations also just made by the American Cancer Society (ACS), the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP). Both the task force and the collaborative groups reviewed scientific literature and came to similar conclusions, that women should reduce the number of tests that they receive over their lifetime.

Cervical cancer used to be one of the most deadliest cancers. Decades ago, it killed more women each year than breast or lung cancer but there have been vast improvements in recent decades due to improved screening, treatment and prevention tools including a vaccine to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus which causes cervical cancer. In 2009, about 4,000 women died of cervical cancer, the vast majority of whom had never been screened within 10 years of their diagnosis.

The USPSTF’s revised guidelines say women, on average, should undergo cervical cancer screening no more than once every three years. Specifically, they call for Pap tests every three years for women ages 30 to 65. Women who add testing for HPV can lengthen the interval to once every five years. The USPSTF recommends against cervical cancer screenings in women younger than 21 or older than 65. They also recommend that women under age 21 should not be tested.

There are slight differences in the sets of recommendations, but you should talk with your health care provider about when you and family members should start screening. Pap screening, coupled with other preventive measures, can save lives!

To view a larger version of the infographic or download a pdf, visit the Prevent Cancer Foundation website’s cervical cancer page.

This traveling troupe of professional health educators volunteer to perform a 45-minute, live show featuring skits and song and dance routines set to popular music with new educational lyrics. The Cancer Queens have had little training other than singing in the shower and watching themselves dance in the mirror at home.

The “edutainment” group is on a mission to inspire women to treat themselves like queens and take care of their health. Mattie Bates, a breast cancer survivor and Cancer Queen, said that the group tries to empower women to take care of themselves against cancer.

Audience members have approached me after performances to discuss their diet and exercise routine as well as telling me they were definitely going to make appointments to get their mammogram and Pap test.

We have had many people write on their evaluations that they wish all women could see our show to hear our message.

With Prevent Cancer Foundation’s grant-funded support, Cancer Queens has been able to travel to rural communities across Middle Tennessee to encourage women to get their screenings as well as live healthier lives.

Cancer Queens is part of the Nashville, Tenn. based Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, which is a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center and is part of National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Learn more about Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s Cancer Queens.

The peer-to-peer outreach centers on the concept of Campeona (“champion,” in English). Similar to a promotora, a Campeona is a lay person volunteering her time to spread the word about breast cancer screening and to share her own personal experiences. Campeonas will be equipped with a “kit” to assist in sharing their reasons for getting screened with friends and relatives.

Modesta Castañeda, ¡Celebremos la vida! participant and breast cancer survivor, at an advisory committee brainstorming session.

“We are very excited to embark on this project!,” states Mary Wozniak, MPH, Prevention and Chronic Care Program Manager at Spanish Catholic Center of Catholic Charities in Washington, DC.

“Our patients are passionate about taking care of themselves, and this program empowers them to spread the word about prevention and early detection of breast cancer in their own communities.”

As part of the project, an advisory committee consisting of bilingual and bicultural health educators, cancer survivors and lay community members, including Celebremos patients, was formed. The committee includes individuals from Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.

The Foundation is looking forward to making the kit available on the Internet late next year for other providers interested in offering culturally appropriate peer-to-peer outreach so that more underserved women may be empowered to start the conversation about breast cancer and the importance of getting screened.

At 31, when I was diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer after 13 normal Pap tests, I had no idea what was in store for me. The surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and internal radiation were anticipated and agreed upon, so I kind of knew what I was stepping into on the physical side.  But the emotional upheaval and depression that accompanied the physical assault on my body was another animal. I learned a LOT about myself through the whole experience and I learned a LOT about cervical cancer. So when I finally got to the other side – I decided to use my voice, my music and my story to share what I learned. I wanted to tell EVERYONE that cervical cancer is preventable – because it is.

I learned that cervical cancer is caused by a very common virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). I learned that the Pap test looks for cell changes caused by HPV, but sometimes, it does not pick up those changes (that is what happened in my case). I learned about the DNA HPV test, recommended for women 30+ and those that get an abnormal Pap, that actually tests for the presence of the virus even before changes can be seen on the surface!  And now of course, we know that there is the HPV vaccine that can stop 70% of the HPV that can lead to cervical cancer. These are the tools. We must use them. It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

No matter what your age, there is SOMETHING you can do to stop cervical cancer:
9-26 – HPV Vaccine
21+ – Pap test (liquid is better!)
30+ – HPV test with Pap test

I’ve made it my mission to talk to anyone who will listen because I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I did – or worse – lose their life to this preventable cancer.I started www.theYellowUmbrella.org and have taken my tour/story/music and message around the country over 100 times.  I’ve partnered with others like my survivor sister Tamika and celebrity makeup artist Debra Macki  to continually find new, creative, fun ways to empower women (and the men who love them) with this information.

I know that I am one of the lucky ones because I am still here to share my story.  But there are over 12,000 that will hear those words “you have cervical cancer” this year, and over 4,000 will NOT be here to blog about their stories. That is why I do what I do, and ask you to do the same. Share this information with a woman you love.  Be part of preventing a cancer.  Help me SAVE THE HOOCH!  And rock on and on.

Editor’s Note: Guest blogger Christine Baze is a musician, cervical cancer prevention advocate and founder of YellowUmbrella.org.

Cervical cancer has become the ultimate preventable cancer success story. The Pap test, developed in the late 1920s and first widely used in the 1940s, was adopted as an essential screening tool for early detection and treatment, and in turn lowered the cervical cancer mortality rate by over 70%. More recently, another leap in cervical cancer prevention was made possible with the development of the HPV vaccine.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation is proud to have played an important role in making cervical cancer preventable through funding cutting edge research, educating the public and supporting community outreach programs. Cervical cancer has always been a priority for the Foundation, having been among the first to fund the research of Dr. Anna R. Giuliano, which led to the development of the HPV vaccine. Among the many other cervical cancer researchers we have funded over the past 25 years, the Foundation recently provided a two year grant to Dr. Subhashini Jagu, whose research is focused on developing a low cost HPV vaccine for global use.

Women don’t have to die from cervical cancer, but unfortunately some still do. Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death among women around the world. In the United States, Hispanic women currently have the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. In 1994, the Prevent Cancer Foundation in partnership with Georgetown University Hospital/Lombardi Cancer Center, the George Washington Cancer Center and the Spanish Catholic Center, created ¡Celebremos la Vida! (Let’s Celebrate Life!), a community outreach program dedicated to providing culturally appropriate cancer-related services to medically underserved Hispanic women. ¡Celebremos! offers both breast and cervical cancer education and screening – providing well over 6,000 Pap tests since its inception. The program also works to ensure that women who need additional medical care are able to receive it, regardless of their financial status. The Foundation also supports Con Amor Aprendemos (With Love We Learn), a community program that works to directly reduce HPV-related diseases in the Hispanic community in Atlanta, Ga. In the area of public education, the Foundation launched the “Confess! Cervical Cancer Awareness Campaign”  to educate all young women about early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. The interactive Web site is designed to increase awareness and encourages women to pledge to get screened for cervical cancer.

We want all women to take advantage of the advancements made in cervical health. Pap tests are essential every two to three years if you are over 21 years old, and the HPV vaccine is highly recommended if you are between 9 and 26 years old. I strongly urge every woman to learn the facts about cervical cancer and talk to her health care professional.

On behalf of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, I wish you a happy – and healthy – 2011!

To combat this issue, in 1994, the Prevent Cancer Foundation began ¡Celebremos la Vida!, a culturally relevant, life saving program that provides free breast and cervical cancer education, screening and early detection to medically underserved Hispanic women in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and McHenry County, Illinois.

The hallmark of the Celebremos program is its unique partnerships with faith-based organizations and medical centers such as the Spanish Catholic Center and Georgetown Hospital in the District of Columbia. These partnerships ensure that Hispanic women receive cancer education, resources, follow-up care, emotional support and assistance navigating the complex healthcare system in their native language. As a result of the Celebremos program, hundreds of Hispanic women now feel free to seek information and make life-saving choices that promote wellness for themselves and their families.

In recognition of its development and continuing support of the Celebremos program, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has been selected as a City Finalist for the Stay Classy Charity of the Year Award. You can help recognize this important program by voting for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and then asking your colleagues, friends and family to vote for us as well.

All voting is online and will end on October 22nd so please support the Prevent Cancer Foundation by casting your vote today!

With this disparity in mind, Emory University School of Medicine developed ¡Con Amor Aprendemos! (CAA), “With Love We Learn,” a culturally sensitive educational program focusing on Hispanic families and addressing concerns about human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, including its transmission and its relationship to cervical cancer.

To help promote awareness about cervical cancer screening and HPV modes of transmission, Prevent Cancer Foundation funded a two-year grant benefiting CAA to help them develop multi-media educational materials and train promotoras de salud (health advisors) who are active in the Hispanic faith-based communities. These advisors can then conduct the CAA program within the Hispanic community. Two “train-the-trainer” workshops have been held, resulting in 23 CAA-certified health advisors. Already these health advisors have successfully implemented the CAA program in a variety of Hispanic communities.

“The funding allowed us to refine our program and reach a wider audience. It allowed us to go out-of-state into South Carolina and expand the program in a ten-fold manner,” notes Dr. Lisa Flowers, CAA project director and assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine. “It allowed us to really disperse that information more quickly.”

The success and effectiveness of CAA are reflected in feedback from participants. Over 98 percent of participants stated that they would recommend the program to family and friends. Fifty-nine percent of participants reported having talked with one to two friends or relatives about getting a Pap test, and 33 percent of participants said that one to two relatives or friends have had a Pap test based on their conversations resulting from the program.

Recently, the success of CAA has sparked interest in Atlanta’s African American community where three churches are adapting CAA materials to make them culturally appropriate for their audiences. CCA is also collaborating with CancerQuest to launch a virtual community, Cervical Cancer Awareness Town, which will feature 15 bilingual videos depicting conversations about cervical cancer, risk factors and preventive behaviors.

 To learn more about the other programs funded by the Foundation’s community grants, click here.