MEDIA RELEASE
FEBRUARY 4, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Allison Clark, Executive Director
ACTION Health
Phone: (570) 275-9150
allisondclark@verizon.net

ACTION Health Cancer Task Force to provide free informational sessions on HPV and cervical cancer

DANVILLE, PA (February 4, 2009) – ACTION Health’s Cancer Task Force was awarded a grant from the Appalachia Community Cancer Network to conduct Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer awareness programs for parents.

Guest speakers Cindy Rupp from Columbia/Montour Family Health and Lisa Wehr from Family Planning Plus will be visiting community groups to present a PowerPoint presentation developed by the Cancer Task Force containing the latest information about HPV and cervical cancer to today and tomorrow’s parents of adolescent girls aged 9-17.

“These programs are an effective way for parents to get the facts about HPV and cervical cancer,” said Allison Clark, executive director of ACTION Health. “I strongly believe that attendees will leave the sessions fully able to make an informed family decision regarding the vaccine.” Clark added that parents will also learn how to talk to their children about these topics.

Participants are eligible to participate in a gift-card drawing amounting to $25 each session.

Many of the sessions are already scheduled. If you are interested in bringing Understanding HPV to your community group, please call ACTION Health for more details, at (570) 275-9150.

Look for more information from ACTION Health regarding programs coming to your child’s school or community group.

There are between 100-200 types or strains of HPV. According to researchers, nearly 80 percent of women will be infected with some type of sexually transmitted HPV by the time they reach 50 years old. At any given time, there are approximately 20 million Americans infected with genital HPV. It is estimated that about 6.2 million new infections of genital HPV occur each year in the U.S. alone. 

According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, “cervical cancer affects approximately 10,000 women in the United States each year. Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide, but because it develops over time, it is also one of the most preventable types of cancer.”

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Gardasil^®, the HPV vaccine, is effective against the four most common high-risk types of HPV that are strongly linked to cervical cancer and other HPV related diseases. Ideally, a person should be vaccinated before they are sexually active.

About ACTION Health

ACTION Health is a collaborative partnership in the Central Susquehanna River Valley that provides community health outreach and education. ACTION Health strives to be the recognized leader in providing quality, innovative, easily accessible health programs focused on enhancing community services and developing new initiatives to address unmet health and wellness needs. It is divided into six separate task forces, comprised of volunteers and agency partners, each focusing on a specific health need or population. ACTION Health is also the designated SHIP (State Health Improvement Plan) partner for the five service counties of Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union Counties, working collaboratively with over 65 agencies to meet the unmet health needs and improve the health status of the people in our communities.

The ACTION Health Cancer Task Force’s mission is to heighten community awareness about cancer, its prevention and early detection, in order to improve overall quality of life of our five county residents.

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