How one Alabama woman’s story can motivate you to help wipe out cervical cancer

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Cervical cancer survivor Jennifer Simpson helps encourage others to seek prevention and treatment
Cervical cancer survivor Jennifer Simpson helps encourage others to seek prevention and treatment (Nathan Watson / Hville Blast)

Jennifer Simpson is like a lot of busy Alabama women: She thought that if there was something wrong with her health, she’d know.

That’s why, when she went in for a routine exam in 2018, she wasn’t concerned that her last Pap test had been in 1993. She thought nothing of that gap—until she got a call to come back in for a biopsy due to irregular results. She had cervical cancer.

Spoiler alert: Today Jennifer is fine and thriving. But like 42.3% of women patients at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) who are called back in for irregular results on a routine cervical cancer screening, she delayed seeking further treatment.

While those irregular results are often benign, it’s essential to take charge of your health and seek follow-up treatment.

Learn how your story can be different. With vaccination, regular screenings and follow-up care, we can all help wipe out cervical cancer in Alabama.

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you can help eliminate cervical cancer

How you can help Wipe Out cervical cancer: It’s preventable

Cervical cancer survivor Jennifer Simpson helps encourage others to seek prevention and treatment-2
Jennifer Simpson, cervical cancer survivor, poses at UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center (Nathan Watson / Hville Blast)

“The fact that people die from cervical cancer is heartbreaking, because the HPV vaccine makes it so preventable.”

Jennifer Simpson, cervical cancer survivor and patient service coordinator at UAB oncology

Jennifer is right: Cervical cancer is preventable, and there’s a way you can help reduce your own risk and help spread the word to others. We’ve previously written about the important work taking place in Alabama as part of OPERATION WIPE OUT. 

The main cause of cervical cancer is infection by a virus: Human Papillomavirus or HPV. Most sexually active people have been exposed to this virus at some point in their lives. However, if the infection persists over time, it can lead to pre-cancer and cervical cancer. 

Fortunately, it’s simple, easy and often very affordable to prevent cervical cancer. Here’s what to know:

  • Get the vaccine + start early: The vaccine to prevent HPV infection also prevents cervical cancer and other HPV-associated cancers in men and women. It’s most effective before people are exposed to the virus, and is recommended for boys and girls starting as early as age 9 to adults 26 years of age. 
  • Get regular screenings: Women between the ages of 21 and 65 should get screened every three years.
  • Follow up: Don’t be scared of a call-back. A lot of results need a further look from your healthcare provider, and most—like Jennifer’s—are treatable. 

“Do not be afraid. It is not the end of the world. Let’s see what we’ve got to do to get it taken care of, because you should not die for this. 

And so many people get that abnormal Pap test, and they don’t come back here because they’re scared. But with cancer, you don’t want to wait until it’s bad. You want to jump right then and go, ‘Okay, I’m important enough to myself and to the people that love me that I’m going to take care of this.'”

Jennifer Simpson, cervical cancer survivor and patient service coordinator at UAB oncology

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How to find free or low-cost care across north Alabama

UAB Peer Wellness Ambassadors and students in south Alabama are learning how to combat cervical cancer-3
UAB Peer Wellness Ambassadors and students across Alabama are learning how to combat cervical cancer (Jacob Blankenship/Hville Blast)

Seeking cervical cancer (and other wellness) screenings can be easier and more affordable than you think! And easier to find, too—check with your internist or a local nurse practitioner to see if they can provide cervical cancer screenings, which are quite often covered by insurance. 

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For uninsured folks, seek out your local health department to find a federally-qualified clinic, call (toll-free): 877.252.3324 or fill out this form. You can find more details via the Alabama Department of Public Health’s website here.

Some locations across north Alabama include:

“We have made considerable progress in treating women with cervical cancer over the last 20 years. Survivorship is no longer an aspirational goal but a reality for many. 

Continued surveillance and follow up is a critical, essential aspect of cervical cancer care.”

Dr. Warner Huh, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UAB

Together with OPERATION WIPE OUT, we can educate, vaccinate, treat—and, most important—eliminate cervical cancer among Alabamians. Learn more.

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Wipe Out Cervical Cancer Alabama
Cindy Hatcher
Cindy Hatcher
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