Cervical Cancer-Free America Initiative Encourages Women to Take Preventative Measures as Part of National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, January 01, 2013 (Press-News.org) Each year in the United States, over 4000 women die from cervical cancer and another 10,000+ are diagnosed with the disease. In Indiana, there are approximately 250 new cases of cervical cancer every year. Every three days, a Hoosier woman dies from cervical cancer. The Cervical Cancer-Free America Initiative, including the Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation and University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health, is working hard to save lives.

Cervical cancer affects the cervix, the part of the body that connects the uterus to the vagina. Virtually all cervical cancers are attributed to the Human Papillomavirus, according to the National Cancer Institute. Two high risk types of HPV are associated with cervical cancer. HPV 18 causes about 10% of all cervical cancers and HPV 16 causes 80-90% of all cervical cancers.

"Only 40% of American women have heard of HPV, and of those, only 20% have heard it's linked to cervical cancer," says Kirk Forbes, founder of the Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation. "We have a major education process ahead of us."

Vaccines such as Gardasil and Cervarix have been developed to prevent infection with high-risk types of HPV and have the potential to greatly reduce the occurrence of cervical cancer.

Forbes shares how these vaccinations really make a difference. "Australia vaccinated 87% of their 11 and 12 year-old females with Gardasil from 2006-2008 and have already seen a 77% reduction in HPV."

There is an HPV screening test that checks for the virus that causes the cell changes on the cervix, and the results provide more information on which type of HPV is present. This test may be used to screen for cervical cancer, with the Pap test, in women aged 30 years and older, and can also be used when a Pap test has unclear results.

Forbes recently appeared on an episode of the Dr. Oz television show dealing with HPV to share his daughter Kristen's battle, which ended with her death only 11 months after being diagnosed. Forbes told the audience, "You should be proactive in your child's health future. Make sure you do consider the vaccine very dearly, as you are playing Russian roulette with your child's life."

For more information, contact the Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation.

About Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation:
Kristen Forbes EVE Foundation stands for educate and screen, vaccinate and eradicate cervical cancer. In 2008, Kirk Forbes' daughter, Kristen, died of cervical cancer. She contracted the Human Papillomavirus, or HPV. She was just 23, and had recently graduated from college. Forbes created the foundation in her memory with a mission to help eradicate cervical cancer and significantly reduce HPV infection levels.

Website: http://www.kristeneve.org