January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
MIAMI - January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. It's a disease that's treatable if caught early with screening, and preventable with the HPV vaccine.
When Nora Lindo Salmon started feeling intense abdomen pain last year, she went to the doctor at her son's urging. She learned she had advanced cervical cancer.
"They said I have cancer, and I said I don't believe it's still cancer," Salmon said.
The Jamaica native had not been getting regular gynecological exams.
"Unfortunately, though, many women, especially underserved women, have not seen physicians and they don't get regular screening," said Dr. Stella Lymberis, a radiation oncologist at NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Dr. Lymberis says cervical cancer is treatable if detected early. In Nora's case, she went through five weeks of chemotherapy and internal radiation treatment called brachytherapy.
"It's the safest way to deliver radiation so that we can reduce side effects," Dr. Lymberis said.
A new American Cancer Society report estimates 13,690 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed this year, and 4,310 women will die from the disease. However, death rates have dropped significantly with the increased use of pap tests. The report also shows that between 2012-2019, there was a 65% reduction in cervical cancer rates in women ages 20-24, that's after the introduction of the HPV vaccine, which protects against the Human Papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society website, "The American Cancer Society recommends that boys and girls get the HPV vaccine between the ages of 9 and 12."
Nora finished her treatment in June and is currently disease free.
"Today, I am wonderful. I'm feeling wonderful," she said.
She's encouraging women to get their annual exams and screening.
"I would tell them not to be afraid. Not to be afraid. Be strong. Make the first step," Salmon said.
The American Cancer Society says higher HPV vaccination rates have the potential to virtually eliminate cervical cancer.