HOUSTON, TX — Today, Dr. Jennifer Molokwu, a member of the board of The Immunization Partnership (TIP) and Director of Cancer Prevention and Control at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso, will present testimony at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services to speak in support of the interim charge prioritizing cancer prevention.
Referencing the billions of dollars that cancer costs the state of Texas, Dr. Molokwu will note:
“Fortunately, we can prevent many cancers with screenings, immunizations and other healthcare interventions readily available today. For example, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been proven to prevent HPV-associated cancers.
Any discussion of cancer prevention in Texas must directly address what we at The Immunization Partnership call the ‘cancer equity gap.’ HPV-related cancers attack Black and Latino women at a higher rate than their white neighbors. For example, Black women have a 60% higher incidence and twice the mortality rates of cervical cancer. Its incidence and mortality rates in the Rio Grande Valley are about 25% higher than the rest of the state and 55% higher than the remainder of the US.”
While HPV-related cancers are on the rise, particularly among men, many of these cancers are preventable through immunizations. As noted in Dr. Molokwu’s prepared testimony:
“Unfortunately, misinformation has shaken public confidence in some vaccines, like the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine, with fewer Texans availing themselves of this protection from HPV-associated cancers.
The Immunization Partnership is ready to work with the Lieutenant Governor and the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee to support efforts to prevent cancer. We hope that immunizations’ current and future cancer-preventing potential will be included in that work.”