Sun Sentinel Op-Ed: With vaccines and screenings, cervical cancer is preventable

The following op-ed appeared in the January 28, 2025 edition of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

One of the most preventable — and treatable — diseases is cervical cancer. With a vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes 99% of cervical cancer cases, and with regular screenings, we can significantly increase life expectancy in women who are prone to this preventable disease.

January has been Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, when we work to spread the message that screenings can save lives. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women get a pap test every three years starting at age 21. But the lack of early detection, particularly among women of color, remains a pressing challenge in South Florida, where nearly 100,000 women are uninsured or lack access to consistent, reliable health care.

According to the American Cancer Society, cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. The good news is that the death rate has dropped by more than half since the mid-1970s because of prevention and screening. However, the death rate in Black women and Native American women is about 65% higher than in white women.

In addition to lack of awareness, many women encounter barriers to screening and diagnosis due to work commitments, childcare, lack of transportation and fear of the costs. Promise Fund, the West Palm Beach-based nonprofit I co-founded, works daily to reach the tens of thousands of women in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties who are uninsured, underinsured or have limited or no access to health care. We are dedicated to increasing survivorship from cervical cancer and breast cancer by providing guided support and access to screenings, as well as early detection and treatment.

Our Promise Fund Women’s Health Program is located in community-based health centers that provide primary care to underserved populations. Here, we provide access to pap smears and HPV testing to detect cervical cancer, mammography and breast ultrasounds and access to treatment for cancer if needed. Our dedicated patient navigators are there every step of the way, guiding women through the screening process and coordinating treatment if a cancer diagnosis is made — so no one faces it alone.

Promise Fund has arranged for nearly 5,000 no-cost pap and HPV tests over the past four years, and we have significantly increased the number of women being screened and who receive the HPV vaccine. While a number of women we’ve serviced have been diagnosed with cervical cancer, we have been able to arrange for treatment for every single one of them. This is why we do what we do.

So, this month, and every month, our message is simple: Get screened! And if you don’t know how, reach out to us through ThePromiseFund.org and we can help. Let’s tackle cervical cancer in our community so that every woman has a chance to survive.

Nancy G. Brinker is co-founder of Promise Fund, based in West Palm Beach. She is a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary and a 2009 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in bringing global awareness to the breast cancer movement. She also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations’ World Health Organization. She founded the Susan G. Komen Foundation and is a New York Times best-selling author for her memoir, “Promise Me.”