“'Twas the week before Christmas,
and all through the city,
every person was stirring,
even the R2I pretties!
The gift bags were stuffed
by the chimney with care,
in hopes that everyone in the city
would be healthy & aware!”
Christmas is only about a week away, and everyone is busy purchasing those last-minute gifts for their friends and loves ones. While you are at the mall fighting through long lines, the R2I ladies have been very busy planning some holiday fun for a great cause.
Our latest event, the “12 Pubs of Christmas” charity bar crawl, will be held Saturday, Dec. 19th throughout Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh chapter will hold the same event a long E. Carson Ave on the South Side. We plan to make the event memorable by incorporating an interesting scavenger hunt that will require participants to complete anything from taking a picture with strangers to playing “Truth or Dare”. Through all of our hard work organizing, we wanted to plan a fun event while still spreading our message of cervical cancer awareness. This idea of “spreading holiday cheer” got me thinking...why not be responsible and considerate while spreading holiday joy?
Okay here's where I morph into the Grinch: 10,000 American women will learn they have cervical cancer or HPV this new year and about 4,000 women will die from it. Similarly, symptoms of cervical cancer and HPV may be as ambiguous as the latest “must have” gift at Toy's R Us. A 2005 Health Information National Trends survey conducted by the National Cancer Institute determined that only 40% of American women had heard of the HPV infection and only 20% had heard of its link to cervical cancer.
It's the start of a new year, a time when many reflect on their health. Specifically, Run 2 Inspire is on a mission in the month of January to encourage women to contact their health care provider to schedule a pap exam to check for cancer. Screening is a crucial part of a woman's health care regimen, yet one that many overlook. Through successful education, examination, an a vaccination program for women, we will have the potential to eradicate cervical cancer in the United States.
“When out on the town,
there arose such a chatter,
with help from talking
the stigma can be shattered!”
Knowledge is power, so when you hand that gift you purchased off to your female friend or loved one, let them know that January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. The beginning of a new year is the perfect time and opportunity to have an annual exam and make sure that everyone you care about is happy and healthy. At Run 2 Inspire, not only do we say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holiday”, we say “Stay jolly, healthy and aware!”
