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Grant for cervical cancer prevention on Crow Indian reservation awarded in Montana

BOZEMAN, MONT--A program aimed at reducing the incidence of cervical cancer on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana begins July 2001.

Native American women have the highest rate of cervical cancer among all minority populations, said program leader Suzanne Christopher, an associate professor of health and human development at Montana State University.

The disease strikes Native Americans at more than twice the rate of other women.

Nationwide, there are 13,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer each year and 4,400 deaths.

The project, called Messengers for Health, will create a network of female community leaders on the Crow Reservation to educate other women about the disease and encourage routine screening.

The program is funded by the American Cancer Society.

Christopher said one reason for the high incidence among Native Americans is a lack of routine Pap smears that can detect precancerous changes years before invasive cancer develops.

"Cervical cancer is preventable, treatable and curable," said Christopher."It's a cancer we can do a lot with."

Native American women may avoid screening out of fear, said Sara Young, who is part Crow and directs the American Indian Research Opportunities Program at Montana State University.

Young is a consultant on the project.

The perception still lingers that cancer may be contagious like tuberculosis, Young said, meaning families don't talk about cancer because of the stigma once attached to infectious disease.

Another barrier to screening is a lack of continuity in Indian Health Service doctors. Because of turnover and rotations, "you might not know what doctor you will see a week from now," Young said. "So there's not that bond."

Christopher said there's also a false belief on reservations that finding cancerous cells is equivalent to a death sentence. In many native languages, the word cancer is translated as "the disease for which there is no cure."

The Messengers for Health project will last four years. Working with Christopher is project coordinator Alma McCormick of Crow Agency, Montana. Christopher, who spent two years working with the Montana Breast and Cervical Health Program, said she hopes to expand the Messengers for Health program to other reservations.

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