Lt. Gov. Backs Cervical Cancer Awareness Program

None by KCPW

HPV Vaccine Part of Push

(KCPW News) Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert is partnering with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness about cervical cancer, the second-most common form of cancer in women. Part of the effort will highlight a new vaccine for the sexually transmitted Human Papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. Herbert says he wants to get the information out and let parents decide whether to vaccinate their girls:

"We are just in the process of giving information," says Herbert. "How people address it, what they do with it inside the confines of their own home, their own families, their own mores - that's up to them."

Herbert announced yesterday that Utah is one of 10 states chosen to participate in the End Cervical Cancer in Our Lifetime campaign, funded in part by a grant from the National Lieutenant Governor's Association. Eight thousand educational brochures and bead kits - which become awareness bracelets - will be distributed over the next year. In addition, the American Cancer Society intends to ask the Utah Legislature to increase its annual appropriation to cover more cervical cancer screenings for low income women.

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