The University of Louisville and several west Louisville community clinics are offering a free June 23 event to educate women about preventing cervical cancer. The disease is preventable by vaccine and treatable if detected early; however, it kills about 70 Kentuckians annually.

The Women’s Wellness event will be 4-6 p.m. Sunday at Louisville Central Community Center, 1300 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd. Women can sign up for screenings and vaccinations; learn from experts, advocates and exhibits; and enjoy music and food.

Speakers will discuss HPV and vaccination; cervical cancer screening, prevention and survivorship; and ways to talk to family members about cancer; a question-and-answer session will follow.

Speakers will include patient advocate and volunteer Aquishala Ware and Drs. Bennett Jenson, UofL James Graham Brown Cancer Center; Andrea Woolfolk, Family Health Center; Giavonne Rondo, Shawnee Christian Healthcare Center; and Sula Hood, Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health.  

Although the event is free, attendees are encouraged to register by calling 502-276-5747 or signing up online at http://bit.ly/wellnesskickoff

UofL’s Kent School of Social Work and School of Public Health and Information Sciences are organizing the event, with grant support from the Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research.

Sponsors include Kentucky Cancer Program, Baptist Health and Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana.

For more information, contact Karen Kayser at 502-852-1946 or karen.kayser@louisville.edu.