Healthy Savannah and the Chatham County Health Department are partnering to offer a cervical cancer awareness and screening event on Thursday, Feb. 20 at the health department clinic at 1395 Eisenhower Drive. This event was originally scheduled for Jan. 23 in conjunction with Cervical Cancer Awareness Month but was postponed due to winter weather. Cervical cancer kills thousands of women each year, but many of these deaths can be prevented through vaccination and screening. In the United States, about 11,500 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed every year and about 4,000 women die of this cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The tragedy of cervical cancer is that its detrimental consequences are almost entirely preventable due to the accessibility and efficacy of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine,” said Krystal Sharp, Adult Health supervisor at Chatham County Health Department and community advisory board member for CHC: Creating Healthier Communities. “But the stigma surrounding this topic from negative stereotypes and misconceptions about HPV can lead to fear of rejection, shame, and judgment causing some people to be less receptive to being vaccinated.”