Arkansas Establishes Task Force To Educate Residents About Cervical Cancer

The Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday announced the creation of a task force aimed at educating state residents about cervical cancer, the Associated Press reports. According to Jennifer Dillaha, chair of the Cervical Cancer Task Force, the group's goal is to educate women in the state on how to prevent and treat the disease. Dillaha said the group will provide women with information on testing locations, as well as how often they should undergo testing. "Cervical cancer is highly preventable and highly curable, but if women don't know what the test is for then it reduces screening rates," Dillaha said. State Rep. Wilhelmina Lewellen (D), who last year introduced the bill to create the task force, said, "I was astonished when I found out that in 2002 Arkansas was first in cervical cancer mortality" (Bergman, Associated Press, 1/26). According to the AP/WREG-TV, cervical cancer is the seventh most common cancer diagnosis and the 10th leading cause of cancer death among women in Arkansas. In 2005, there were 10,370 cases of cervical cancer in the state (AP/WREG-TV, 1/25).


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