How One Teen is Engaging Her Peers to Help Eliminate HPV Related Cancers
Feb 27, 2018

By Allyson Rosenblum

What if you could save a life or prevent someone from the devastation of cancer simply be providing them with information, would you do it?  What if it was someone you knew or cared about, would you do it then? 

My name is Allyson and I am a 17 year-old high school student living in Southern California. Earlier this year, I set out to do something that I hope will make a difference in the lives of others. I would like to encourage teenagers who care about their health and the health of future generations to join me.

What I’m asking is fairly simple. I am requesting high school and college students to pass along valuable information about HPV infection and prevention to those they know and care about.  

I have personally seen HPV and cancer devastate the lives and dreams of people I love. Beginning in October of last year, I witnessed my mother’s difficult battle with cancer every day as she endured three surgeries and eight months of chemotherapy. Two months later, my cousin informed me that she was diagnosed with cervical cancer resulting from an HPV infection she acquired as a teenager. At just 35 years old, she has now had to accept the fact she will never be able to have biological children of her own. Seeing all this pain and needless suffering has moved me to take action.

I decided to start a social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram, which I called “Two Shots To Beat Cancer.”

My goal is to enlist high school and college students throughout the U.S. to help in passing along information about the importance of early HPV vaccination to other high school and college students using various social media platforms.

Let me emphasize that this campaign is not about teen sex.  Rather, it’s about prevention of HPV prior to sexual activity. If people can avoid acquiring the strains of the HPV virus that are linked to cancer, they will be less likely to suffer with an HPV related cancer later in life or pass the virus on to others.  This is why the CDC recommends the HPV vaccine to 11-12 year olds. However, if a child did not get vaccinated in their pre-teens, it’s not too late. The vaccine is recommended up to age 26 for women and age 21 for men.

Unfortunately, most people my age do not want to talk about health related issues. We’re often uncomfortable talking about such topics, especially with adults, and reticent to share private information about ourselves. As such, many of us remain unaware of the dangers and prevalence of HPV, and questions and concerns often go unaddressed. However, it is precisely the lack of education and informed knowledge that allows the HPV epidemic to persist. By sharing timely and credible information among peers, I hope to empower my generation to take responsibility for their health and to help encourage better health practices among our peers.

I started this campaign in January and through the power of social media have already been able to get 1807 high school and college students to join me in all 50 states. With an average of 600 followers per student, that gives us the potential of reaching 1,084,200 students and counting!  However, I’m not content with that. I believe we can do far better! In fact, if high school and college students were aware that there are 14 million new people acquiring HPV in the U.S. each year and over 50% of them are teens and young adults who are just becoming sexually active, than I believe they may see their important role in this mission.

I would encourage any high school or college student who cares about their own health, or the health of future generations, to find out more by visiting my website at TwoShotsToBeatCancer.org and joining the Two Shots To Beat Cancer Facebook Page and following our Two Shots To Beat Cancer Instagram account.

By joining me in this worthwhile endeavor, we can be the generation that puts an end to HPV related cancers. By posting to social media and sending letters to politicians, newspapers and school board administrators, we can make a difference and help to stop the spread of HPV. It takes little time, costs no money and by encouraging students to engage in important and life-changing conversations, we can save lives and prevent needless suffering.

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