About
about Conquering Cancer
The Conquering Cancer Campaign is a global social impact communications initiative designed to celebrate the efforts made to eliminate cervical cancer around the world. While cancers are a leading cause of death worldwide, a global movement is building to put cervical cancer in the history books. It’s true – this cancer, the fourth most common in women globally, is on the brink of being eliminated.
Did you know that a woman dies every two minutes from cervical cancer? That’s more than 300,000 women every year. What’s even more astounding is that with the proper processes in place, it’s actually very possible to prevent this type of cancer. If we can eliminate cervical cancer, it will be one of the greatest public health achievements in modern times. In fact, it will likely rival the end of polio in regard to its impact on humankind (Frazer, 2018)
The aim of the Conquering Cancer Campaign is to propel change by supporting the World Health Organization’s cervical cancer elimination targets through a three-pronged approach of vaccination, screening and treatment. If your mother, your sister, your daughter or your friend was given a cervical cancer diagnosis, wouldn’t you want to guarantee her access to the best treatment, advice and support, no matter where she resides? if you agree, then we need your help.
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Chris is fighting cervical cancer for the second time and is supported unconditionally by her husband Simon. Chris has sought treatment in both China and Malaysia and is a powerful advocate for eliminating cervical cancer worldwide.
Kristy was diagnosed with cervical cancer aged aged 26 and says screening saved her life. Initially fearing she would never have children, Kristy now has a young son and is now five years cancer free.
Nanthini’s doctor asked to her have a pap smear after she gave birth, but she put off having the test as she feared it would be painful. Nanthini was eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer stage 2B. Nanthini doesn’t want any woman to go through what she did.
Loyce describes the day she was diagnosed with cervical cancer as the worst one of her life. It felt like a death sentence and robbed her of all her happiness. Now a cervical cancer surviver, Loyce wants women everywehre to know that elimination is possible.
Together, we can influence policymakers across the globe to take national action on cervical cancer elimination, and in doing so, prevent tens of thousands of women from losing their lives prematurely. We are asking countries, NGOs and communities to join the existing movement and urgently introduce cervical cancer vaccination of girls and timely cervical cancer screening of women. We are also urging women aged over 30 to get screened for cervical cancer, to champion the HPV vaccination for all girls, and to advocate for this campaign in their communities and across social media.
Through this campaign, we will amplify the achievements of countries where elimination is imminent and encourage decisions-makers in other nations to advocate for change and prioritise critical action to put their country on the pathway to elimination. Most cervical cancer cases can be prevented through vaccination and timely screening, with prompt treatment of any pre-cancers identified. Screening also helps find true cancers of the cervix early and for women who are diagnosed early, it’s also one of the most treatable cancers. We want the women and girls in your life to know that if they are armed with the right information about signs and symptoms of cervical cancer and know where to go to seek help if these occur, and have access to vaccination and screening, cervical cancer isn’t something they’ll need to worry about.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), believes we have the vaccines, diagnostics and treatment to stop cervical cancer. Failure to eliminate this cancer, he says, is not an option. Nine out of every 10 women who die of cervical cancer lives in low and middle income countries, which is where implementation and innovation is needed most.
With almost 600,000 cases recorded every year, we must urge for the widespread introduction of HPV vaccination for young girls everywhere, push for regular screening for every adult woman and make sure that extensive treatment and palliative care is available for all women diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Through this initiative, we will share with you inspirational stories about individuals taking action towards cervical cancer elimination from around the world. We know these women will touch your heart, inspire minds and create change, but the ultimate force of the Conquering Cancer Campaign will be measured by cervical cancer cases avoided and the lives saved. We think it’s time for everyone to acknowledge that the suffering of women diagnosed with this disease is unacceptable.
So if you want to see this cancer eliminated for the next generation, please join us in showing governments and world leaders that defeating cervical cancer is now an achievable goal in every country.
“ We are losing a woman every two minutes and this should not happen. Especially when we have all the weapons we need to fight it. “
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization
The Global Elimination Strategy main pillars:
Prevent
90% coverage of HPV Vaccination of girls (by 15 years of age)
Screen
70% coverage of screening (70% of women are screened with high-performance tests by the ages of 35 and 45 years) and 90% treatment of precancerous lesions.
Treat
Management of 90% of invasive cancer cases.
Join the movement!
Help us put cervical cancer in the history books! Drop your name and email into this form to receive monthly updates from Conquering Cancer and together - we can make the change happen.
