Planned
Parenthood president reveals cervical cancer diagnosis, encourages 'silent
killer' screening
January is Cervical Health Awareness month. In order to bring attention to the importance of cervical cancer screenings and access to reproductive health care, Planned Parenthood’s new president, Dr. Leana Wen, is sharing her own story of being diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer for the first time.
In an article for Self, Wen
explains that she was just 27 years old when she was diagnosed after a routine
exam.
She credits “access to routine screening, safe and
effective surgery, and close monitoring” as the reasons that she is healthy and
cancer-free today, and the mother of a 17-month-old son.
As Wen reminds us, it is routine cervical cancer
screenings that save the lives of thousands of women each year.
That’s why it is so vital that we have organizations like
Planned Parenthood that provide access to a range of reproductive health
services, including cervical cancer screenings, especially for those patients
who need them at reduced cost.
But there are still important economic and racial reproductive health disparities that impact women of color and poor women that need to be addressed.
Writes Wen, “More than 4,000 women die of cervical cancer
each year, including a disproportionate amount of women of color.
Black and Hispanic women are diagnosed with cervical cancer at higher rates than white women are, and they are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, making it harder to treat.”
Black and Hispanic women are diagnosed with cervical cancer at higher rates than white women are, and they are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, making it harder to treat.”
Women of color are also more likely to be
uninsured or underinsured, which prevents access to quality health care. This
is at near-crisis levels in America.
In addition to black and Hispanic women
having higher rates of cervical cancer, the U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rate in the
developed world, with black women four times more likely than the average
American woman to die from pregnancy complications.
In an era of increasing racial and
economic inequality, expanding access to reproductive health services is
important—now more than ever.
This has only worsened under Donald Trump’s
presidency. Over the last two years, the Trump administration has waged an
all-out war on reproductive rights.
In November, the administration
proposed changes to the federal Title X family planning program,
essentially blocking the availability of federal funds to family-planning
providers that also provide abortion services.
In their maniacal quest to prevent access to
abortions, the administration is also endangering the lives of people in need
of cancer screenings, STD prevention and treatment, and other kinds of
reproductive health needs.
Thanks to Dr. Wen’s story, as well as the
other millions of stories that are being shared, we can see first-hand how
important it is that patients around the country have access to quality,
affordable reproductive health care. As Dr. Wen notes, no one should die
of cervical cancer because they lack access.