Streamwood health seminar aims to help Lao women, girls
Submitted by Lao American Organization Elgin
The Lao American Organization Elgin, in partnership with the Asian Health Coalition and VNA Health Care, will present an educational “Let's Celebrate Health” luncheon to encourage human papillomavirus vaccination and breast and cervical health to prevent cancer.
The event will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday June 30, at The Seville Banquet and Conference Center, 700 S. Barrington Road, Streamwood. To RSVP, contact janette.nanthavongsa@gmail.com by June 23.
“Laotian women have high rates of cervical and breast cancer,” said the LAOE's May Saengpraseuth. “We will explain how preventive health care measures can prevent it and detect it early.”
LAOE community health worker Manivong Nanthavongsa will give a presentation on breast and cervical health. Her daughter, Janette Nanthavongsa, also a community health worker, will talk to the girls in attendance about navigating adolescence, their changing bodies, and healthy choices. A nurse from VNA Health Care will discuss the HPV vaccine to prevent cancer and the services provided by VNA Health Care through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program. Attendees also will get information on where to receive the vaccine and breast and cervical care, and how to cover the costs through Medicaid, insurance or financial assistance.
Laotian women and girls age 9-26 are encouraged to attend.
The event was organized in response to high rates of cancer among Laotian women and a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report stating that only 26 percent of Illinois teenage girls have received the recommended three doses of the HPV vaccine, which creates immunity from a viral infection that is the primary cause of cervical cancer and a contributor to head and neck, skin and other cancers. HPV infection accounts for about 5 percent of cancers worldwide, according to the National Cancer Institute. Cervical cancer alone afflicts more than 12,000 American women each year.
Millions of Americans so far have received the HPV vaccine, which has been approved for use in over 70 countries. The teen years and early adulthood are the years during which individuals are most susceptible to HPV infection. While most HPV infections do not result in cancer, they do increase the risk of cancer.
The event is being supported by the Illinois Department of Public Health's Center for Minority Services and the Illinois Public Health Association. These organizations have started the Illinois Women Against Cervical Cancer (www.livecancerfree.org) program to encourage cancer prevention and early detection. IPHA recently passed a resolution calling for a comprehensive, statewide HPV vaccination program directed toward females and males, age 9-26.
The event complements the Silk Brocade Project, a LAOE-AHC partnership funded by the IDPH Communities of Color program. The project provides breast and cervical cancer outreach, education, and linkage to care to Lao women living in the Fox River Valley area.
For information, visit www.laoelgin.com.