Past President Diane Helentjaris represented AMWA June 27 at the “Let’s End HPV-Related Cancers” Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC, which she summarized here. Interest on the hill appeared high as the briefing drew a standing room only crowd of well over one hundred attendees.
In 2018 the World Health Organization issued a call to action to eliminate cervical and other HPV-related cancers. AMWA has signed on in support of this, along with other health organizations and patient advocates. The stated strategy of this effort is to, in accord with the US Healthy People 2020 goals:
- Complete vaccination of more than 80 percent of males and females ages 13-15 by 2020
- Screen 93 percent of age-eligible females for cervical cancer
- Provide prompt follow-up and proper treatment of females who screen positive for high grade cervical pre-cancerous lesions.
Today over 33,000 HPV-related cancers are diagnosed among US men and women annually including 12,000 cervical cancer cases.
For information on current vaccination recommendations, visit the CDC site.
