A Note from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to present you with the first edition of the VAX 2 STOP CANCER (V2SC) Quarterly Newsletter. I am excited to open this line of communication with you to keep you updated on all that you are helping to accomplish. I also hope that you will use this as an opportunity to share your feedback with me and that you will forward this along to those in your circle who might be interested in the work of V2SC.

I am thrilled to announce the hire of a full-time Program Coordinator to handle the logistics of the our quality improvement project with our pediatric and family practice partners. Veronica Wehby-Upchurch previously served as the Executive Director of Susan G. Komen North Central Alabama. After taking a year to stay home with her new baby, she is excited to be working once again to reduce cancer risk in the state of Alabama.

We are quickly approaching the 12-month mark with the first group of practices in our quality improvement project, Preventing HPV Associated Cancers Through Effective Provider Education. The data we have in hand through 9-months is encouraging. The goal for the entire 12 months is an increase of 10% and the average across practices has already reached 11%.

Unfortunately, as you may know that the pandemic has caused interruptions in healthcare delivery for children and adolescents, including reduced uptake of routine vaccinations like the HPV vaccine. Since March 2020, an estimated one million doses of HPV vaccine have been missed by adolescents with public insurance—a decline of 21% over pre-pandemic levels. As a result, all 71 NCI-designated cancer centers are calling for healthcare centers, physicians, parents and children, and young adults to take action to get HPV vaccination back on track. Read more here.

Recently the Tennessee Department of Health announced that it is ceasing all vaccine outreach efforts, including the HPV vaccine, to adolescents because of pressure by state lawmakers. You can read the details here. To my knowledge, there has not been talk of this in Alabama. Hopefully, it will not come to that.

We had hoped to host you for the first annual VAX 2 STOP CANCER luncheon in October, but due to the current COVID-19 surge we have decided to postpone the event until circumstances are better. Please plan to join us for this event when the time comes.

As always, thank you for your continued support. We cannot do it without you!

Best Wishes,

Barbara Schuler

Founder/Executive Director

Board Member Spotlight

Casey Daniel, PhD, MPH 

VAX 2 STOP CANCER Board Chair

Dr. Daniel is the Director of Epidemiology and Public Health and an assistant professor at the University of South Alabama (USA) College of Medicine and USA Mitchell Cancer Institute. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in public health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed postdoctoral training in cancer prevention and control at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute before being recruited as the first faculty of the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Control and Prevention. 

Why did you join the board?

I am a childhood cancer survivor and have dedicated my personal and professional lives to preventing cancer in others. As a public health professional, prevention is my ultimate goal. The HPV vaccine is so incredible because it can actually prevent multiple types of cancer. Increasing HPV vaccination improves and saves lives every single day. This is the first organization of its kind. As soon as I heard about V2SC, I knew I had to be a part of it.

What does the mission of VAX 2 STOP CANCER mean to you?

The mission of VAX 2 STOP CANCER is closely aligned with my beliefs and passion for cancer prevention. Educating others and promoting cancer prevention to ultimately help save lives is the best work I could ask for.

What is the most rewarding part of being involved with V2SC?

The most rewarding part of being involved with V2SC is knowing that our work is contributing to a real difference. Our work is helping more adolescents get vaccinated against HPV and preventing unnecessary cancers. Also, working with a group of people who are as passionate about a mission as you are is incredibly rewarding; it is difficult to describe how great it is to share that kind of experience with others.

What do you want the public to know about V2SC?

I want the public to know how passionate and dedicated we are to saving lives through this organization's work. Modern medicine is amazing and we are thankful for amazing cancer treatments, but through V2SC we are striving to save lives through cancer prevention. Future generations may never have to endure the tragedy of these vaccine-preventable cancers. This vaccine is paving the way to the possible elimination of some cancers--something we may see in my lifetime. Our work is a testament to the importance and indescribable value of this cancer prevention vaccine.

Practice Spotlight

Primary Care Services, Blount

Mina Kahn, MD Attending Physician, Managing Partner

Is a primary care practice in Oneonta, which is in rural Alabama. We serve patients in Blount County and surrounding counties. We have two physicians and 2 nurse practitioners, also 2 registered nurses, 3 medical assistants and 4 non clinical staff involved in front office duties and billing.

How are you involved with the VAX 2 STOP CANCER program?

I make recommendations which patients need to be vaccinated against HPV, and the vaccines are administered by the medical assistants. One of our RNs runs monthly reports to determine how many shots were given in any given month.

Why did your practice choose to participate in the program?

I have a large adolescent population that are eligible for the vaccine based on their age. To my knowledge rates of completed immunization against HPV are low in Alabama, and we needed to focus on this, while reducing the stigma that some have associated with the HPV-9 vaccine.

What have you learned from the program?

It has given me a perspective of how effective we have been in vaccinating our eligible population against HPV. The tools and information provided by Barbara have also helped introduce the concept of vaccinating as young as 9 years of age, which I was not doing previously. I feel that this will help with vaccine coverage in the long term.

What has been the most rewarding part of participating?

Seeing our vaccine coverage numbers improve with each assessment has been rewarding.

What is one thing you want the public to know about the program and/or the HPV vaccine?

There is a lot of misinformation widely propagated by a small number of individuals and groups. The vaccine is safe and is the only vaccine that can prevent a variety of cancers caused by the human papillomavirus, including cervical and anal, and those of the head and neck. The vaccine can be effectively and safely offered to children as young as 9, and if given before the age of 15, one less dose is required to complete the series

If you would like to refer a practice to our program, please email veronica@vax2stopcancer.org

Did You Know?

HPV infections can cause six cancers:

• cervical, vaginal, and vulvar in women
• penile in men
• anal and oropharynx (back of the throat including base of the tongue and tonsils) in both men and women

Survivor Story

Meredith Carpenter, a dual-cancer survivor, shares the TRUTH about the HPV vaccine's effectiveness! 

If you are a survivor of an HPV associated cancer and you would like to share your story*, please email barbara.schuler5@gmail.com

*Stories can be shared in writing or on camera

HPV Fact

 Nearly 80 million people living in the U.S. are currently infected with some type of HPV with 14 million new cases each year - half of those being teenagers and young adults.