Colquitt Regional Medical Center hosts Cervical Cancer Awareness Lunch & Learn

MOULTRIE, Ga. – January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and in Colquitt County, a “Lunch and Learn” event was held to raise awareness and provide valuable information to both the public and healthcare practitioners.

This event took place at Colquitt Regional Medical Center, which hosts at least one “Lunch and Learn” session each month.

Tuesday’s speaker, Dr. Margarett Ellison, shared essential information in recognition of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, focusing on the importance of early detection and raising awareness about the disease.

“Well, we were talking about cervical cancer or how to prevent that. Pre-invasive disease. And, so, really that incorporated talking about people getting their pap smears and getting the cervical cancer vaccine. And, then, I did go on and talk about cervical cancer and how we treat that,” said Dr. Margarett Ellison, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist, Colquitt Regional Medical Center.

According to the CDC, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide.

In the United States alone, approximately 11,500 new cases are diagnosed annually, and around 4,000 women lose their lives to the disease.

Regular check-ups with your doctor are crucial for early detection and prevention.

“I think it’s really important because the majority of folks don’t know what causes cervical cancer. And, so, the HPV virus is what causes probably 95% of cervical cancers. So I think, educating the public about what causes it, and how we can help prevent it would help to decrease the number of cervical cancer cases that we have, and also decrease the number of deaths that we have from cervical cancer. And, so, that’s my kind of line of work. I’ve been taking care of cervical cancer since I finished my doctorate in 2000. And, like, I was mentioning during the talk, you know, when I was practicing in, you know, the well-to-do area of north Atlanta, I didn’t see any advanced cervical cancer. But, down here in South Georgia, in Florida, you know, we have, less, patients with means to get to the doctor, you know, to take off work to be able to make those appointments,” said Dr. Ellison.

The next “Lunch and Learn” will be announced soon and will be held at the Ameris Bank Medical Education Center.

Gabe Hutton reporting.

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