Today marks the end of NLIRH’s blog carnival to end cervical cancer, ¡Acábalo Ya! Working Together to End Cervical Cancer.
But don’t fret! Here is round-up of all the great posts on the blogosphere that answer the question: What will it take to end cervical cancer?
Sinsi Hernández-Cancio from Families USA with Lydia Mitts writes about the impact of stigma on cervical cancer prevention. She writes about cervical cancer and HPV:
“It is vitally important that we change the framing of this issue, especially in the Latino community, where we clearly have more to lose. This is a matter of health and safety, not of sex and stigma.”
Ernesto Dominguez at Chatmosphere too discusses the stigma around discussing sexual health from his perspective growing up in an undocumented Latino family. He writes:
“Growing up in an undocumented Latino family we never dreamed of going to the hospital unless our arm had actually fallen off, yet alone to receive preventative care. Our fear of getting deported was much worse than the fear of cervical cancer.”
Viva La Feminista also emphasizes the powerful role of stigma:
“We need to come to grips with the fact that women, even younger women, teenagers, are sexual beings. Shame should never kill anyone.’
Verónica Bayetti-Flores, Policy Research Specialist with NLIRH urges us not to forget LGBTQ individuals as we aim to bring the cervical cancer rate down to zero. Verónica discusses the discrimination, bias, homophobia, transphobia the LGBTQ community faces in the health care system in addition to the systematic oppression in society.
The National Center for Transgender Equity also discuss the importance of impact of cervical cancer screening for all who have cervixes, including transgendered and gender non-conforming people, who face discrimination and bias. They urge insurance companies to stop denying coverage for transgender people, increase the cultural competence of health providers and increase the number of gender identity questions on federal health surveys to increase knowledge and support of transgender people’s health needs.
Kate Ryan at National Women’s Health Center urges us to find a balance between overscreening some women (typically women who have excellent health insurance) and underscreening other women (typically those who face barriers to health care access.)
Keely Monroe at Raising Women’s Voices discusses some of the improvements to cervical cancer prevention under the Affordable Care Act.
The National Coalition of STD Directors discusses the role of HPV vaccination in cervical cancer prevention.
Dania Palanker of National Women’s Law Center shares a personal story of discovering the link between HPV and cervical cancer and the importance of obtaining routine Pap testing and cervical cancer screenings.
Mimi Spalding of the Black Women’s Health Imperative guests posts on NLIRH’s blog Nuestra Vida, Nuestra Voz and discusses the importance of cervical cancer prevention for black women, emphasizing BWHI’s dedication to “ensuring that screening standards and guidelines are appropriate for Black women and enable them to achieve optimal health and well-being.”
Amelia MacIntyre of North American Management guests posts on NLIRH’s blog as well about the essential role Community Health Centers play in expanding access to cervical cancer screenings for folks who have been disproportionately excluded from health care systems and who are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer.
Natalie D. Camastra, Policy Fellow with NLIRH outlines what policy makers can do beyond January to reduce health disparities and ensure Latinas live cervical cancer free.
Our Bodies, Ourselves focuses on the health disparities associated with cervical cancer. They write:
“To reduce disparities for Latinas and other under-served women, we will need to make systemic changes in our health care system to increase access to screening and vaccinations for those who need it most.”
Bianca I. Laureano of Latino Sexuality shares a powerful list of what it will take to end cervical cancer. She centers the experiences of cervical cancer survivors, calls for honest and open dialogue about sexual health and cervical cancer prevention, urges a commitment to valuing the bodies of people of Color, transgender and intersex and calls for non-coercive policies and practices that empower individuals to control their bodies.
While not part of the ¡Acábalo Ya! Blog Carnival, New American Media ran an interesting piece about Lilia Fuentes’ experience with a cervical cancer diagnosis and the impact of cervical cancer on Latinas in California.
We thank everyone who raised their voice this week and shared their perspective on what it will take to end cervical cancer!
For more information about cervical cancer, please visit: http://latinainstitute.org/issues/cervical-cancer
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