In 2011, Judy Huie-Kennedy was diagnosed with stage 3B cervical cancer, and the journey to a cancer-free status in the following years was arduous, including two rounds of intense chemotherapy, radiation treatment and a hysterectomy.
Getting screened and diagnosed was “half the battle,” Huie-Kennedy told the Bronx Times.
The other half of that battle, for many, is insurance or lack thereof.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common forms of gynecologic cancers, with 6 in 1,000 women receiving a cervical cancer diagnosis at some point in their lifetime. But uninsured individuals and people with Medicaid are the most likely populations to be underscreened for cervical cancer, according to a study published by JAMA Network.
Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center’s annual See, Test & Treat event — held on May 20 at the Greene Medical Arts Pavilion in Williamsbridge — is aimed at getting women ages 21-64 free breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings.
“To me, it’s very important because some of the reasons why people don’t go to see their doctors, their providers, is that they may be afraid or feel it’s necessary,” said Huie-Kennedy, a longtime market specialist at Montefiore Medical Center. “But the bigger thing is they don’t have insurance and if they don’t have insurance, they can’t afford to pay, and they just let it go.”
Huie-Kennedy’s become a major part of Montefiore’s See, Test & Treat event, which started offering screenings in 2013. Taking on the role as the program’s project manager since 2018, Huie-Kennedy is motivated by her own cancer diagnosis and desire to bridge healthy equity gaps for Bronx women.
“I think by 2018 (See, Test & Treat) became more of a mission for me. It meant more just to see these women who were so fearful of getting the diagnosis, and we always had somebody there who was from either one of the cervical cancer societies or one of the oncologist providers that volunteered to speak with them to…
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