The main focus of his department, he said, is to vaccinate junior high and high school girls against the human papilloma virus, or HPV.
“We are encouraging young women to access the vaccination and get the annual pap smear,” Villagomez said. “We are in a small community and it hurts everyone to know if someone is diagnosed with cervical cancer.”
Villagomez and other health advocates from the Department of Public Health, the Commonwealth Cancer Association, the Saipan Mayor’s Office, Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research Extension and Education Services, and the Ayuda Network Inc. joined Gov. Benigno R. Fitial on Friday for the signing of the proclamation designating January as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.
During the signing of the proclamation in the governor’s conference room at the administration building on Capitol Hill, Fitial urged all women in the CNMI to discuss a screening program with their healthcare providers and to become aware of the potential risks of getting cervical cancer.
“We recognize the fact that the pap smear test is an effective method of detecting cervical changes that may lead to cancer,” he said.
Commonwealth Cancer Association President Alexander Sablan said the rate of cervical cancer in the CNMI is seven times higher than that of the states, “but there is hope.”
Sablan said the association, in collaboration with other health providers, has administered HPV vaccines to 92 percent of the female high school and junior high school population in the CNMI.
The HPV vaccine can prevent cervical cancer, he said.
The vaccine is available at the Department of Public Health immunization clinic for girls aged 9- to 18-years-old.
To promote cervical cancer awareness, the association will launch various events to effectively educate women about the importance of cervical cancer screening and the risks of not being screened, Sablan said.
The activities for Jan. 9 include celebrity bagging at the Joeten Susupe Market and the Joeten Hafa Adai Shooping Center.
Sablan said there will be an education booth at various public and private schools to encourage high school and junior high school girls to complete their HPV vaccination.
Every Wednesday of the month, a health walk sponsored by various community organizations will take place at the Oleai Beach Pavilion, and this will be held in conjunction with the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program’s Walk-On Wednesday activity.
Sablan said a mini-health-fair is also scheduled for Jan. 30 at the Garapan Fishing Base from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
