RCB and its Partners Launch Statewide Action plan to Eliminate Cervical Cancer

RCB Cervical Cancer Prevention Project Chair Dr. Isabel Scarinici speaks at press conference.

Alabama ranks third in the nation in the incidence and deaths from a cancer that can be prevented—cervical cancer. To address this serious public health problem, primary care providers and community leaders from throughout the state convened and developed a statewide action plan to eliminate cervical cancer in Alabama by 2033.

Dr. Isabel Scarinici, Vice Chair for Global and Rural Health in the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chair of RCB's Cervical Cancer Prevention Project and RCB Executive Director Dan Stephens joined representatives from partnering organizations, including the Alabama Department of Public Health, TogetHer for Health, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, the American Cancer Society, and Quality of Life Health Services, for a news conference on May 8th to announce the launch “Operation Wipe Out Cervical Cancer Alabama.” 

The statewide plan is the result of a summit held in Birmingham in the fall of 2022, where primary care providers and public health leaders representing 42 of the 67 Alabama counties came together to identify barriers, facilitators and solutions to cervical cancer prevention and control in Alabama. A pilot program in Chambers County, AL, where incidence of the preventable illness is highest, was built upon a framework developed through RCB’s work to prevent and treat cancer in Sri Lanka over the past decade. 

“We know that many people right here in Alabama are suffering and dying unnecessarily from cervical cancer,” Stephens said. “But with immunizations, early detection, and treatment, we can eliminate this problem from our state altogether. Rotary can help by connecting leaders across communities in Alabama to raise awareness, to build public support, and to harness the necessary resources to make sure this effort is a success.”

The statewide action plan uses evidence-based strategies to promote HPV vaccination, promote cervical cancer screening, and ensure adherence to follow-up in the event of abnormal cervical cancer screening results. HPV vaccinations are a powerful tool to protect children and adolescents before they are exposed to the virus. Cervical cancer screening among women 21 to 65 years of age detects abnormal cells in the cervix which can develop into cancer. Appropriate follow-up and treatment for women with abnormal results improves the chance of recovery from cervical cancer. Specific benchmarks will be monitored toward achievement of this goal.

“I want to dedicate the rest of my life to cervical cancer prevention control because this cancer can be prevented and I will not stop until we get there,” Scarinci said. “Everyone has a role in this mission, like we did with polio and I truly believe…we're going to do it and Alabama is going to be the model for the country and the world.” 

For more information on the statewide action plan to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in Alabama, please visit alabamapublichealth.gov/bandc/assets/cervicalcancer_actionplan.pdf.

Click here or on the image below to watch the press conference.

Dan Stephens and Dr. Isabel Scarinci with representatives from partner agencies in Operation Wipe Out