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Mandy Moore Promotes Cervical Cancer Prevention (VIDEO)

 
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To increase cervical cancer awareness, singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore teamed up with Dr. Yvonne Collins, The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Todd Hartley:
I bet you didn’t know cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States in women in their 20s and 30s. To increase awareness, singer, songwriter and actress Mandy Moore has come to EmpowHER and she has teamed up with the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline to encourage young women to reduce their risks of cervical cancer. Hi Mandy!

Mandy Moore:
Hi!

Todd Hartley:

Mandy, were you shocked like I was when you saw the recent survey that said that 85% of women 19 to 25 years of age do not believe that they are at risk of cervical cancer?

Mandy Moore:
Yeah, I mean obviously that’s a pretty staggering statistic, but like you have already said, I think just as staggering is the fact that it’s the second leading cause of cancer deaths of women in their 20s and 30s and that was something I was completely unaware of.

It’s definitely, I think, sort of reattributed to that lack of awareness as young women often times they, I think probably the idea of our cervix doesn’t even really factor in until we decide that we want to have a child and have a family some day, but this campaign, which I am so proud and passionate to be a part of, it’s really just to encourage young women A, to start this dialogue and talking about their cervical health, but also to make them aware that they are at risk.

Like you said, 85% of a survey that GCF did of women between 19 and 25 don’t realize that they are at risk and they are, so it’s very easy to keep on top of your cervical health.

Todd Hartley:
Yeah, and it’s really startling when the awareness is that small. Yesterday you Twittered, “A recent survey found that young women in the U.S. know more about pop culture than their own health?” and as a singer and songwriter, and now a patient advocate, like you are, this must give you some mixed emotions, right?

Mandy Moore:
Well, not really. I mean, I think it’s more important for people to keep tabs on themselves than the pop culture, the music and film and what’s sort of going on in that world. So there are always lovely additions to one’s life but my goodness, there’s nothing more important than your own health and being aware and educated in knowing, knowing just what’s going on within you and having that peace of mind. So, there’s really no mixed emotion.

I am proud to be a part of this campaign and just encourage women to just at least open this, you know, doorway of having this conversation amongst themselves, with their friends and we also have a website that I would encourage women to check out. It’s, http://www.cervicalcancercampaign.org/realitycheck. So any comments, questions, concerns, I am sure they can find the answer on the website.

Todd Hartley:
Now we’ll give that url out a couple more times during this interview. Mandy Moore is with us right now on EmpowHER and Mandy, what inspired you? I mean, what emotionally inspired you to take a step out of what you normally do and help women by being a patient advocate?

Mandy Moore:
You know, I mean, knock on wood, I feel very, very lucky that this hasn’t personally affected me, but being a young woman and being sort of 25 and what some might consider sort of the prime of your life, I feel like this is a cause that absolutely resonates within me. I think I really relate to a lot of those young women that were surveyed that, one in five didn’t know what their cervix does or where it is in terms of their reproductive organs. So, I definitely felt like there was a need to add a voice to this cause and I am happy to use whatever platform I have to get the word out about it.

Todd Hartley:
It’s really interesting. I spend a lot of time going around and interviewing celebrities and heroic women and there’s not a lot of celebrities that want to tie themselves to an icky condition or an icky subject and I just want to commend you on that. It’s rather impressive. Now, how regularly should a young woman get a medical check up to reduce or decrease her risk of developing cervical cancer?

Mandy Moore:
Well I am not a doctor, and I think it’s patient-by-patient situation and obviously that’s an individual conversation I think everyone should have themselves with their doctor but, like I said, just the general awareness and education about cervical cancer, about your cervical health, visiting our website again – http://www.cervicalcancercampaign.org/realitycheck – all of those are good things and I think sort of the right way to start you on the right path to being more cognizant about your health.

Todd Hartley:
Mandy I noticed that you are on the cover of “Shape” magazine – that’s something that’s never going to happen for me, right?

Mandy Moore:
You know, I didn’t really think it was going to happen for me either, but yes, in fact it is out there and I had started talking about my… I guess like the top ten things that I am looking forward to altering and changing in 2010, and one of them obviously is being more aware of my health and my cervical health more specifically but, yeah, it’s definitely an honor to get to the cover of a magazine.

Todd Hartley:
Oh I bet, I bet. So look I read the article and one of the things that you said was interesting. You said, “I heard a lot of stories from cervical cancer survivors at the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation race in Washington DC last November.” Can you share the impact of hearing those survivor stories and how that helped motivate you?

Mandy Moore:
Well, I mean, it’s always incredible to be able to put a face to the cause and to sort of have that backed up by their unbelievably heroic, incredible journeys. It’s almost too much to wrap your head around, but it just makes it all the more real. You know, I think when you hear the word cancer, it’s incredibly scary.

It’s something that you don’t want to think about, let alone talk about but it was just an empowering event to be around all of those women that, you know, a lot of them were survivors of all kinds of women’s cancers, but specifically talking to cervical cancer survivors, it sort of made you realize like, “Oh, ok, this is why we are here. This is why we are speaking out about this cause and getting the word out, so there can be but more women in that same boat, more survivors, and hopefully just preventative measures that are taken so there don’t even have to be survivor and other people going through that ordeal.”

Todd Hartley:
Totally. EmpowHER’s founder, Michelle King Robson, she is a patient advocate so it’s our core mission here to show women how to advocate for themselves in the doctor’s office and I am hoping while you are here, can you give women a tip on how to discuss cervical cancer prevention with their doctors?

Mandy Moore:
Oh good question. Again, I might direct people to the website. Feels silly to keep doing that but I know if someone who is a big shy myself and maybe it’s a little bit difficult to start that conversation, you know, to think about how to start that conversation with your doctor or with your friends, what not.

I know that there are definitely some answers on the website for people, but I think I have been lucky enough to sort of be teaming up with Dr. Yvonne Collins from the GCF on this campaign and hearing her speaking a couple of interviews of just really appreciating patient’s honesty when she is sort of meeting with patients for the first time to talk about different options and how to prevent cervical cancer.

So, I guess I would take a cue from her and just say that I think that’s the one safe place where we as young women should feel comfortable to talk about all of the options and to be as honest as possible with our doctor because they are obviously there to help.

Todd Hartley:
Yeah well said. Mandy, gosh you have had so many great roles over the years. I have been a fan of your work. My favorite has to be when you played yourself on HBO’s hit series “Entourage” and you became the only girl in history to break the king of all heartbreakers, Vinny Chase’s heart. Well done Mandy, I am so proud of you.

Mandy Moore:
Thank you very much.

Todd Hartley:
What a great role and a great opportunity to set Vinny back to reality.

Mandy Moore:
Yes, I guess so – funny how that works.

Todd Hartley:
Yeah, it sure is. Well she is Mandy Moore. She is a singer-songwriter. She is an actress and she teamed up with the National Cervical Cancer to create public education on really an awareness to help get the word out. For more information on the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline, we encourage you to go to the http://www.cervicalcancercampaign.org/realitycheck.

Mandy Moore, thank you so much for helping us empower women.

Mandy Moore:
Oh thank you for chatting with me today.

Todd Hartley:
It was a real pleasure.

To learn more go to, http://www.cervicalcancercampaign.org/realitycheck.

Watch Dr. Yvonne Collins' Video Interview on Cervical Cancer Prevention

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