M. D. Anderson Banner Cancer Center Hosts Seminar
on HPV Vaccine and Cervical Cancer

PHOENIX, (April 21, 2010)  M. D. Anderson Banner Cancer Center will kick off its 2010 Ask the Cancer Expert series with a program on cervical cancer May 19 at 6 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Tempe. 

The program will provide education about the disease and its prevention, including the Human Pampilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.

Pamela Soliman, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will talk about cervical cancer, its causes, preventive measures and detection.  She will address commonly asked questions about the HPV vaccine including vaccine effectiveness, who should receive it and how it works. Soliman will be available after the presentation for a question-and-answer session.

Each year, about 11,000 women in the United States learn they have cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers of the reproductive organs. Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by infection from HPV. 

This Ask the Cancer Expert program is free and open to the public but space is limited.  Guests are asked to reserve seating by calling Banner Health at 602-230-CARE.

The Embassy Suites is located at 4400 S. Rural Road in Tempe and the event will take place in the main ballroom.  Guests should plan to arrive a few minutes early for registration and a light reception.

Ask the Cancer Expert events scheduled for the remainder of the year include skin cancer screenings in July and August, a prostate cancer program for men in September and a breast cancer seminar for women in October.

About M. D. Anderson Banner Cancer Center
The M. D. Anderson Banner Cancer Center is targeted to open in the Fall of 2011 on the Banner Gateway Campus and will deliver an unprecedented level of cancer care to patients in Arizona through the collaboration of Banner Health, Arizona’s leading nonprofit health care system, and M. D. Anderson, the internationally renowned cancer treatment and research institution.

About Banner Health
Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns or manages 22 acute-care hospitals, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services including family clinics, home care and hospice services, and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about Banner Health, go to www.bannerhealth.com.

About M. D. Anderson
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson is one of only 40 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For six of the past eight years, M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in “America's Best Hospitals,” a survey published annually in U.S. News & World Report.

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