Dear Friends,
What can I say except thank you? Your support has brought our program, Preventing HPV Cancers Through Effective Provider Education, to 295 pediatric and family medicine providers at 77 practices in 27 Alabama counties since 2020. Although seeing such progress in these 3.5 years is remarkable, now isn't the time to get too comfortable with our achievements. American showman and businessman, P.T. Barnum once said, "Comfort is the enemy of progress." With that in mind, we are incredibly excited to launch our new Dental Provider Education Program: Preventing HPV Cancers Through Effective Dental Provider Education. This free, online, on-demand training is available NOW for dentists, pediatric dentists, and hygienists. Utilizing methods endorsed by the National Cancer Institute and materials from the University of North Carolina and the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, the training presents the best method for recommending the HPV vaccine to patients ages 9-26. Oropharyngeal cancer is now the most frequently diagnosed HPV-associated cancer, surpassing cervical cancer diagnoses. HPV causes 14,800 cases of oropharyngeal cancer each year in the US. The HPV vaccine recommendation is critical to reducing the devastating effects of oropharyngeal cancer, and dental providers have a vital role in protecting their patients from these and other HPV cancers. Research shows that parents feel comfortable discussing HPV and the vaccine in the dental setting, especially with dentists. Hence, we are confident that including Alabama dentists in our efforts will move us closer to the Healthy People 2023 target HPV vaccine percentage of 80%. More information, including a link to register, is below. Please share this with your networks, including your dentist! With your help, we can protect the next generation from HPV cancers with vaccination.
With Gratitude, Barbara S. Schuler CEO and Founder |
