Latina Cervivor Stories: Changing the Narrative about Cervical Cancer in Hispanic Communities This Hispanic Heritage Month

By Kyle Minnis, Cervivor Communications Assistant

Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) honors the contributions and resilience of the more than 65 million Hispanic Americans who shape our nation’s culture, economy, and communities. It’s also an important opportunity to highlight persistent health disparities—particularly in cervical cancer prevention and treatment, which disproportionately affects Latina women.

Composite image of three Latina cervical cancer survivors with teal text: "LATINA SURVIVORS CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ON CERVICAL CANCER." The image highlights representation and advocacy for cervical cancer in Hispanic communities.

Latinas are 43% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than non-Hispanic white women, and their risk of dying from it is 25 to 50% higher, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). They receive significantly fewer Pap tests and are less likely to follow up on abnormal results, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Barriers to care include stigma and silence around “below-the-belt” cancers, language differences, insurance gaps, transportation challenges, and inflexible work schedules, all of which delay diagnosis and limit access to lifesaving interventions.

Patient navigators like Nancy Peña—Founder and Director of Navegación de Pacientes Internacional (NPI), which trains Spanish-speaking clinical advocates across the U.S. and Latin America—champion bilingual education and culturally competent care, explaining, “Native-language navigation improves informed consent, adherence, and satisfaction; reduces errors and no-shows; and honors dignity.”

Bilingual clinical patient navigator Nancy Peña spoke to attendees at the 2024 Cervical Cancer Summit.

HPV vaccine uptake among Hispanic youth and young adults also remains low. While 63% of U.S. adolescents ages 13 to 17 are up to date on the full series, Hispanic adults ages 18 to 26 lag behind: According to the latest National Health Interview Survey, only 36% had received at least one dose, and just 21.5% had completed the full series—far below the national goal of 80% two-dose completion by age 15.

As Cervivor has reported, in many traditional households—Hispanic or otherwise—the vaccine is still seen to promote promiscuity. “It’s so important to speak openly with our children about cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine,” says cervical cancer survivor Maritza Manjarrez, a Cervivor Español member who was raised in a Mexican family. “Vaccinating our youth doesn’t mean we’re giving them permission to have sex—it means we’re protecting them from a cancer that can develop later in life.”

Cervivor’s mission is to help eliminate cervical cancer while also lifting survivors from isolation, providing community and education, and empowering those affected to become advocates. This Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate our Latina community members—including Maritza, Dulcely Tavarez, Yvette Torres, and many more—by amplifying their stories and strength. Their voices demonstrate what it means to live beyond cervical cancer while advocating for health equity and compassion.

Maritza Manjarrez: Breaking the Silence

Maritza recently graduated from Cervivor School 2025.

“My cervical cancer journey has been especially difficult as a Latina. The stigma surrounding HPV and cervical cancer in our community has played a huge role in that,” says Maritza, who was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma at age 34. “Growing up Mexican meant you didn’t talk openly about topics like this. Keeping what was considered ‘private information’ to myself made it very hard to find help, support groups, or even basic information.”

That silence meant it took Maritza years to find Cervivor and feel comfortable sharing her story. “When asked what type of cancer I had, I felt a sense of shame and embarrassment to answer cervical cancer,” she recalls. “I believe this stigma plays a big role in the statistics. It makes me sad and worried, because if we don’t increase advocacy, these numbers are not going to change. Too many of our women are dying from this preventable disease.”

Dulcely Tavarez: Shattered Dreams, Renewed Fire

Dulcely Tavarez

Dulcely describes being in her early twenties, putting her own health last while caring for others, a struggle familiar to many Latinas. In April 2015, she finally saw a doctor about her irregular menstrual cycles, but was bounced between providers before receiving a cervical cancer diagnosis. “‘Later’ almost cost me everything. By the time I was diagnosed, the treatment I needed was life-saving but meant I could never carry a child.”

Dulcely’s family surrounded her with care and love, but it sometimes intensified her grief and isolation. “In our community, family and children are seen as such a natural part of life that it’s hard to explain the emptiness when that dream is taken away. Even when they were trying to comfort me, sometimes I felt alone in those emotions.”

She found healing in Cervivor. “When I looked for stories that reflected my own—young, Latina, facing cancer and fertility loss—I couldn’t find them. And that loneliness can be crushing. We need to see ourselves in these campaigns, in our own language, in ways that reflect our values and struggles. Representation is not just about visibility—it’s about saving lives and healing hearts.”

Thanks to her involvement with Cervivor, Dulcely became the first-ever recipient of the Cervivor Baby Gift Fund at this January’s 2025 Cervical Cancer Summit. The award supports cervical cancer survivors pursuing alternative paths to motherhood and accepts donations from $10 to $50,000.

Dulcely gets a hug—after receiving the first-ever Cervivor Baby Gift Fund—from Cervivor Founder and Chief Visionary Tamika Felder at the 2025 Cervical Cancer Summit.

Yvette Torres: From Shame to Advocacy

Yvette Torres

Yvette’s cancer journey began with an unsympathetic, unprofessional diagnosis. “The doctor asked, ‘Why did I wait so long?’ Still in shock, I did not answer that callous question,” she recalls. At 42, she and her husband had been hoping for another child so their youngest son could have a closer-in-age sibling—but that hope ended with a biopsy, performed on her son’s 4th birthday, that confirmed cervical cancer in 2013. She remembers the OB/GYN telling her it “didn’t look good,” that it was most likely cancer, and later saying it was a “good thing I already had two children,” since treatment would likely take away her chance to have more.

This cold medical treatment reinforced how stigma and cultural silence can delay women from seeking care. Yvette shares, “I hid. I felt ashamed. I didn’t want to talk about it because that’s what I learned growing up—we didn’t talk about below-the-belt issues. My mother did teach me the importance of going to the gynecologist. However, I did not feel comfortable talking about details, differences, or changes in my body.” Her experience echoes what many Cervivor Español members describe: how misconceptions about HPV, reluctance to discuss gynecologic cancers, and language barriers all contribute to lower screening and vaccination rates.

For Yvette, community was the turning point. “I found Cervivor during COVID, when isolation made everything feel even worse.” Through Cervivor Español, she gained the confidence to speak out in Spanish, even though she hadn’t grown up fluent, and now distributes bilingual prevention materials. “Now, I celebrate and embrace my Black and Hispanic identity by advocating for these communities and helping women not feel ashamed by sharing my story,” says Yvette, a 2023 Cervivor Champion and recent top Tell 20, Give 20 fundraiser, who also mobilized her students through a school workplace drive to spread awareness.

Join the Movement to End Cervical Cancer Disparities in Hispanic Communities

Latinas make up 20% of the U.S. population, and their stories of surviving cancer, overcoming setbacks, and celebrating successes deserve to be heard—not just during Hispanic Heritage Month. Whether navigating care in a new language, confronting cultural silence around cancer, or redefining family and identity after treatment, Latina Cervivors show that community and compassion can transform what’s possible.

To help reduce cervical cancer diagnoses and improve outcomes for Hispanic individuals with a cervix, take action today by:

  • Sharing your Cervivor Story to put a face on a cancer that is too often hidden or hushed.

  • Supporting Cervivor’s 20th-year Tell 20, Give 20 campaign to fund culturally relevant programming and Cervivor Español support group (and sign up for next month’s event).

  • Advocating for bilingual programs—like Nancy Peña’s NPI patient navigators—that help create more equitable care pathways.

  • Championing advocacy groups such as the ACSí Se Puede Hispanic/Latino Advocacy Alliance, which amplify voices and expand access for Spanish-speaking communities.

  • Using your voice. If you speak Spanish—whether fluently or conversationally—you can support those facing language barriers. Talk with them about the life-saving benefits of HPV vaccination, regular screenings, and timely follow-ups.

Lastly, honor the voices of Maritza, Dulcely, and Yvette—and so many others—by making this Hispanic Heritage Month a catalyst for lasting change. As Dulcely reminds us:

“Please don’t wait. Don’t push your health to the bottom of the list the way I did… To the mothers—protect your children with the HPV vaccine. It’s an act of love. To my fellow women—know your worth, use your voice, and never stop fighting for answers.”

If you found this blog post helpful, please share it with friends or family members. You may just save a life. Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

About the Author

The image is a portrait of a young man with dark skin and short, curly black hair. He is wearing a blue collared shirt and black-framed glasses, and is smiling at the camera.
The man has dark skin and short, curly black hair.
His hair is cut close to his head, with a slight fade at the sides.
His eyebrows are thick and well-groomed.
He is wearing a blue collared shirt.
The shirt is a medium blue color and appears to be made of a lightweight material.
It has a relaxed fit and is buttoned up to the top.
He is also wearing black-framed glasses.
The frames are rectangular in shape and have a subtle curve at the temples.
The lenses are clear and do not appear to have any tint or coating.
The man is smiling at the camera.
His smile is wide and genuine, showing off his white teeth.
His eyes are crinkled at the corners, giving him a friendly and approachable appearance.
The background of the image is a plain gray color.
The gray is a medium tone, neither too light nor too dark.
It provides a neutral backdrop that allows the subject to stand out.
Overall, the image presents a friendly and approachable young man who appears to be confident and comfortable in front of the camera

Kyle Minnis is a senior studying Strategic Communications at the University of Kansas. He is currently serving as Cervivor’s Communications Assistant.

Cervical Cancer Prevention Starts Here: HPV Vaccine Facts You Can Trust

By Kyle Minnis, Cervivor Communications Assistant

The United States, along with much of the world, is at a pivotal moment in cancer prevention. Various studies show that use of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine—which can prevent over 90% of HPV-related cancers, including cervical cancer—is falling. If the trend continues, more children and families will face potentially life-threatening cancer diagnoses that could be avoided. 

The numbers speak for themselves: According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) most recent National Immunization Survey, only 78% of U.S. adolescents aged 13 to 17 have received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, and fewer than 63% are up to date on the full series. This is significantly below the national Healthy People 2030 goal of 80% two-dose completion among adolescents aged 13 to 15. Recent data suggests the pandemic has widened gaps in vaccine uptake and fueled vaccine hesitancy.

Globally, approximately 31% of eligible girls have received at least one dose, though the percentage fully completing the recommended series falls well short of the World Health Organization (WHO) cervical cancer elimination target of 90% completion by age 15. The disease still claims the lives of nearly 400,000 people with a cervix worldwide each year.

As vaccine misinformation floods social media, parents and young adults encounter more conflicting messages than ever. Meanwhile, research infrastructure is under threat. In March 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) terminated all funded research on vaccine hesitancy and uptake, telling scientists: “This award no longer effectuates agency priorities.” 

“Watching the headlines and talking to experts in the field, we know this is a critical time,” says cervical cancer survivor Tamika Felder, Cervivor’s Founder and Chief Visionary and co-chair of the American Cancer Society’s National HPV Vaccination Roundtable. “Respected scientists are being dismissed. Research is being defunded. ‘Vaccine’ has become an even more loaded word. And decades of hard-earned progress are at risk.” 

Cervivor Founder Tamika (center) addresses the audience at the 2025 National HPV Conference, a key gathering for leaders in HPV prevention.

For Cervivor Ambassador Zuli Garcia, who will mark her second cancer-versary this November, the issue is deeply personal. As a 2024 Cervivor School graduate and founder of Knock and Drop Iowa, she advocates for underserved families who often face barriers to timely HPV cancer prevention. “I’m living proof of what happens when access comes too late,” says Zuli, who was diagnosed at age 47. “The HPV vaccine represents hope, protection, and equity.”

To cut through the noise and offer clear, trustworthy HPV vaccine facts during National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), we’ve gathered insights from survivors and leading experts. What follows is a breakdown of the most essential information about the HPV vaccine—and why it’s needed to protect future generations from preventable cancers.

Why HPV Vaccination Matters More Than Ever

Every major health authority agrees: The HPV vaccine saves lives from cervical cancer and five other HPV-related cancers—including anal, throat, penile, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. Among teen girls, infections with the HPV types that cause most cancers have dropped by 88%, while infections among young women have dropped by 81%, according to a 2024 CDC report. Additionally, among vaccinated women, cervical precancers caused by high-risk HPV types have declined by 40%, with some studies showing up to 80% reductions in high-grade lesions among those vaccinated early.

In countries like Australia and Sweden—thanks to widespread vaccination and strong screening programs—HPV is close to being eliminated as a cause of cervical cancer. 

Dr. Heather Brandt

Dr. Heather Brandt, director of the HPV Cancer Prevention Program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, stresses both the progress made and the work still ahead. “Here we are after almost 20 years of the vaccination being available and still working to make sure people understand how HPV vaccination protects against these diseases,” she says. She recalls feeling “such excitement” at the 2002 International Papillomavirus Conference when early trial results showed the vaccine could prevent HPV-related diseases, pre-cancers, cancers, genital warts, and even recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

Today, after more than 15 years and over 500 million doses given worldwide, the vaccine’s safety record remains excellent. Serious side effects are extremely rare, and most reactions are mild, such as temporary soreness or fever. Real-world studies confirm that protection lasts at least 12 years—and likely much longer.

Who Should Get the HPV Vaccine and When?

Everyone—regardless of gender—should get the HPV vaccine. Here are the latest immunization guidelines: 

  • The ideal time to start is between ages 11 and 12, though it can be given as early as age 9 for maximum protection. 
  • If the first dose is given before age 15, only two doses are needed. 
  • For those starting later or who are immunocompromised, a three-dose series is recommended. 
  • Catch-up vaccination is advised through age 26, and adults up to age 45 may still benefit based on individual risk and guidance from their healthcare provider.

The following infographic provides additional information on when and why the vaccine is so important for saving lives from preventable cancers.

While insurance coverage for older teens and adults varies, several states—including Washington D.C., Virginia, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, plus Puerto Rico—have implemented school-entry requirements for the HPV vaccine. These policies significantly boost community-wide protection.

“HPV affects everyone—men and women—and the vaccine is about cancer prevention, not lifestyle choices,” says a spokesperson from Vaccinate Your Family, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about timely immunizations. Its current #FirstDayVax campaign aligns with CDC recommendations to bundle the HPV vaccine with other routine back-to-school shots, like Tdap and meningitis. 

Common HPV Vaccine Myths—and How to Address Them

Across the U.S.—especially in rural and conservative communities—misinformation and stigma are stalling progress. Rising non-medical exemptions, often fueled by online disinformation, threaten decades of gains for all vaccines, not just HPV. Without research and infrastructure support, public health programs are left without the tools they need to respond.

Kellie DeFelice

As Vaccinate Your Family warns: “Parents are increasingly exposed to false vaccine claims online, where algorithms and bots amplify misleading content and make anti-vaccine rhetoric appear as credible as scientific consensus.” 

Even parents who support vaccines can be swayed. Kellie Defelice, a Cervivor Ambassador, shares: “I was very pro-vaccine. But after reading a story online, I hesitated and turned down the HPV vaccine for my daughter. I regretted that decision when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.” Her hope for fellow moms: “They see that I’m the real face of what HPV does—it isn’t just an STI. I risked my daughter getting a cancer that has destroyed so much for me.”

Other common myths include:

  • “The HPV vaccine is just for girls.” In fact, HPV affects everyone. Anal cancer rates in both men and women have been rising, with new cases increasing by about 2.2% per year over the past decade, according to the American Cancer Society. While men may not get cervical cancer, they can still contract and spread high-risk HPV strains.
  • “The vaccine encourages promiscuity.” Zuli explains that some parents worry the vaccine is a “permission slip for sex.” But as Vaccinate Your Family counters, “Vaccination does not change behavior—it simply protects against cancer-causing infections.”
  • “The vaccine isn’t necessary until kids are sexually active.” In reality, the vaccine works best before HPV exposure, which is why health organizations now recommend it for children as young as 9 years old.

How to Get Back on Track with HPV Vaccination Targets

Survivors and experts are pushing back against misinformation with evidence, stories, and culturally relevant outreach. Zuli says: “As a survivor, I’ll keep raising my voice until every child, every family, and every community has access to this protection.”

A review of nearly 60 studies conducted between 2006 and 2019 found that strong provider recommendations are among the most important—if not the most important—drivers of vaccine uptake, underscoring the need to equip health professionals with confidence and clarity in vaccine conversations.

Community partnerships also make a difference. In Memphis, the St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program helped boost county vaccination rates by 19%, outpacing national averages. In Iowa, Zuli’s team at Knock and Drop Iowa combines bilingual education with on-site vaccinations—reaching 23 people in a single afternoon, she reports. “Meeting people where they are is what works,” Zuli explains. “Education first, vaccines immediately after, in a trusted setting.”

Cervivor Ambassador Zuli Garcia hosts an HPV vaccine outreach event in her home state of Iowa.

Vaccinate Your Family echoes this approach: “Conversations about vaccines should always start with empathy, not judgment. Questions about safety, side effects, or the need for certain vaccines are natural—and families should look to trusted, science-based sources.”

St. Jude’s Dr. Brandt highlights new “compelling” research: “Through our work…we have been discussing the implications of possible changes to the dosing schedule with partners. I know all of us are incredibly excited about the prospect of moving to a single dose in the U.S.”

She also offers caution: “We previously leaned in on the rigor of the FDA-approval processes for childhood vaccinations and then review by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Key changes to these entities may call into question the science. Changes in dosing with any gaps in evidence become fodder for purveyors of misinformation.”

Ultimately, cancer prevention shouldn’t be controversial—it should be celebrated. By recommitting to science, survivor voices, and trusted outreach, we can ensure every person has the chance to thrive, free from preventable cancers.

If you found this blog post helpful, please share it with friends or family members of recommended vaccination age. You may just save a life. 

About the Author

The image is a portrait of a young man with dark skin and short, curly black hair. He is wearing a blue collared shirt and black-framed glasses, and is smiling at the camera.
The man has dark skin and short, curly black hair.
His hair is cut close to his head, with a slight fade at the sides.
His eyebrows are thick and well-groomed.
He is wearing a blue collared shirt.
The shirt is a medium blue color and appears to be made of a lightweight material.
It has a relaxed fit and is buttoned up to the top.
He is also wearing black-framed glasses.
The frames are rectangular in shape and have a subtle curve at the temples.
The lenses are clear and do not appear to have any tint or coating.
The man is smiling at the camera.
His smile is wide and genuine, showing off his white teeth.
His eyes are crinkled at the corners, giving him a friendly and approachable appearance.
The background of the image is a plain gray color.
The gray is a medium tone, neither too light nor too dark.
It provides a neutral backdrop that allows the subject to stand out.
Overall, the image presents a friendly and approachable young man who appears to be confident and comfortable in front of the camera

Kyle Minnis is a senior studying Strategic Communications at the University of Kansas. He is currently serving as Cervivor’s Communications Assistant.