advocacy

This movement needs you!

Every January, our community commits to bringing their global voices together in unison to talk about and bring awareness to cervical cancer and what it means to be a Cervivor.

It’s Cervical Cancer Awareness Month or CCAM for short. The CCAM Planning Committee for 2022 has once again been hard at work developing a campaign that will educate, uplift and inspire many to lend their voice to our mission of ending cervical cancer.

This year is all about Taking Care of You in 2022 and we’ve packed so much into our teal & white month. We’ll touch on topics like our mental health, empowering your patient advocacy voice, cancer disparities, expert speakers in various medical and wellness fields and lots more.

Some reasons why our work is so important.

  • In 2018, an estimated 570,000 people globally were diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 311,000 died from this disease.
  • The U.S. states with the highest rates of new cervical cancer cases are Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
  • Latina/Latinx populations have the highest incidence rates of cervical cancer.

Our mission is to make sure that this month becomes the impetus for conversations about cervical cancer screenings, prevention and taking care of survivors, thrivers and those facing a cervical cancer diagnosis.

This movement needs you!

  • Share your cervical cancer story with Cervivor because someone out there needs to hear your story.
  • Be engaged on Cervivor’s social media channels. Share, react and comment on our content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest. Don’t forget to share, share and share some more!
  • Join our social media chats, Zoom events and online gatherings! There will be opportunities to connect and share!

Lastly, make a promise to yourself to actively elevate the level of awareness of cervical cancer by not being quiet or sitting on the sidelines this month. This is your opportunity to be the light, to be the educated voice to carry Cervivor’s message of ending this disease that takes far too much from us.

There may still be a global pandemic and since cervical cancer doesn’t stop, neither will we. Join us and take care of YOU in 2022!

Miss USA Advocates for Cervical Cancer Awareness

We must talk about cervical cancer. In our community, you’ll hear stories of loss of fertility, recurrences, ostomies and so many other secondary issues because of a cervical cancer diagnosis. You’ll also hear the stories of those who are no longer with us, their stories still making an impact to prevent others from having to endure such a devastating disease. Cervivor empowers and elevates the stories of cervical cancer survivors everywhere to shine a bright light on what cervical cancer is and who it impacts.

Miss USA has been a sought-after and highly respected beauty pageant since 1952. Their mission is to reimagine pageantry, to encourage the contestants to use their voice and to give back with charitable work. Cervivor’s mission is on par. We give those diagnosed with cervical cancer a patient advocacy voice, empowering them to raise much-needed awareness for a cancer so misunderstood.

Photo from Elle’s Instagram: @officialellesmith

Elle Smith has been crowned the 2021 Miss USA title BUT that’s not all…She’s dedicating part of her platform to cervical cancer awareness! Not many people have chosen a platform with a history of stigma like cervical cancer has had but Elle has a deeper, more personal connection.

Elle lost her grandmother in 2015 to the devastating disease we know as cervical cancer. Someone she cared for and loved so deeply was gone and she knew she couldn’t just sit back. Elle wanted to honor her grandmother by making her grandmother’s story matter.

Elle’s decision matters so deeply to the Cervivor community. No one should have to watch their loved ones die from a preventable cancer. There were tears of joy and words of encouragement from so many in our community.

Photo from Elle’s Instagram: @officialellesmith

Maria Franklin shared, “Watching Miss Universe as every good Puerto Rican and pulling for Puerto Rico of course but, did you guys hear Miss USA talk about #cervicalcancer and the importance of gynecological health!!! Loved that she used this platform for it!!!”

“This is fantastic! We need more women helping us raise awareness!” said Tracy Jimenez.

“What a monumental moment to have cervical cancer awareness on a global platform. As a 20-year cervical cancer survivor and the founder of Cervivor, this is exactly the type of visibility that is needed to help us end cervical cancer. Thank you, Miss USA Elle Smith.” shared Cervivor Founder, Tamika Felder.

We are supporting Miss USA and are forever grateful that she is using her platform to help end cervical cancer. We encourage staying up-to-date on the current screening guidelines. And don’t forget to join us in January for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM).