Get the facts. Reduce the risk. Spread the word.
The Health Promotion Center of Glens Falls Hospital, through funding from Health Research, Inc. and New York State, works to increase awareness about the effects of ultraviolet (UV) exposure as well as human papillomavirus (HPV) within Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties.
The Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) program looks to assist local organizations such as daycare centers, local schools, outdoor worksites, and parks and recreation departments in their efforts to promote sun safety practices through policy change and implementation. CPiA can support partners who adopt sun safety policies by providing resources including but not limited to sunshades, sunscreen dispensers, and educational materials to pass out to their employees and/or patrons.
CPiA also works to raise awareness of HPV vaccine among adolescents and educate their parents and guardians about the cancer prevention benefits of the HPV vaccine. This initiative looks to partner with healthcare providers such as pediatrician offices to promote the HPV vaccine as cancer prevention.
The focus of this initiative is to increase awareness about skin cancer as well as HPV related cancers while also assisting with policy change and providing community organizations the resources they need to help prevent and reduce cancer in our community.
Objectives
- Increase the adoption of sun safety policies and practices in community settings
- Increase the number of community education interventions to build support for the HPV vaccine as cancer prevention
Cancer Prevention is Key
- Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States
- Nearly five million people are treated for skin cancer each year at a cost of about $8.1 billion
- 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer in their lifetime
- Indoor tanning before the age of 30 increases the risk of melanoma by 75%
- HPV can cause six types of cancers among other health problems
- In NYS up-to-date vaccination coverage is much lower than coverage of other recommended vaccinations for adolescents aged 13-17 years (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, 95%; meningitis, 95%; HPV, 57%)