Cervical Cancer Prevention Works

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Updated June 19, 2009

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CLUW joins online campaign
aimed at OLDER WOMEN:
Ask About Cervical Cancer Screening,
Ask About HPV Testing

September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month - Note to Older Women: Ask About Cervical Cancer Screening, Ask About HPV Testing - Spread the Word

This year, 11,070 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 3,870 will die of the disease. Women aged 65 and older comprise 20% of all new cervical cancer cases and are 35% more likely to die of the disease versus younger women.

CLUW and its Cervical Cancer Prevention Works project is joining the National Council of Women’s Organizations' (NCWO) new campaign to help older women understand that cervical cancer can affect them and that they may benefit from the same advanced screening technologies as younger women. The Note to Older Women: Ask About Cervical Cancer Screening, Ask About HPV Testing campaign is an online effort that encourages all women to tell the older women in their lives what they need to know. CLUW is an affiliate of NCWO.

Visit the Note to Older Women: Ask About Cervical Cancer Screening, Ask About HPV Testing campaign website to learn more and get involved. Here’s what you can do:

>> Send an e-postcard (shown at right) to the older women in your lives and to your friends and colleagues so they can share it with the older women in their lives.

>> Post the campaign button (shown above) on your Facebook or other personal web page so others can learn about the campaign and get involved.

You can do something to make sure no one you know gets cervical cancer. Please give this public service announcement to your union communications office for the union publication/website.

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CLUW participates in "Beat the Clock" Walk!
2008 story and photos

CLUW's commitment
to eliminating cervical cancer

No woman should suffer or die from cervical cancer. Get screened today!

In April 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new screening test to help determine which women age 30 and over are at a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. This screening method uses a DNA test to detect human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, in combination with a Pap test. The DNA test identifies the 13 types of HPV most commonly associated with cervical cancer.

At its March 2003 National Executive Board meeting, CLUW adopted a resolution of support of FDA approval of annual HPV screening for all women 30 and over. CLUW urges all unions to:

Cover all FDA-approved HPV testing, as recommended by the American Cancer Society.
Cover annual office visits with obstetrician or gynecologist for counseling on contraception, sexually transmitted infections, breast and other cancer screening, and, as deemed appropriate by the clinician, cervical cancer screening.
Protect patient confidentiality.

In addition to its own new cervical cancer awareness program -- Cervical Cancer Prevention Works -- CLUW is actively working with public education programs to get this information out.

Protect yourself against cervical cancer!

Age 9-26:
Ask your provider about the HPV vaccine
By age 21:
Get a Pap test
Age 30 and up:
Ask your provider for an HPV test along with your Pap

Cervical cancer is one of the few types of cancers that can be prevented through regular screening
Your health care provider can determine if you have harmful cell changes in your cervix that can be treated before they develop into cervical cancer
Find out if you carry the virus that puts you at increased risk of developing cervical cancer

Cervical Cancer Prevention Works (CCPW) is the name of CLUW's cervical cancer awareness project. The project's mission is to empower union women by providing them with information on how to prevent this deadly disease. CLUW's CCPW is funded by Digene, the company which makes the only FDA-approved test for HPV (the virus that causes 96 percent of cervical cancer cases).

For further information, contact:
Carolyn J. Jacobson, director, Cervical Cancer Prevention Works
202-508-6901
cjacobson@cluw.org

An HPV vaccine is now available for girls and women ages 9-26. Although the vaccine will help prevent many HPV infections, screening will still be needed to prevent cervical cancer. See HPV Vaccine: Questions and Answers