In observance of National Cervical Health Awareness Month this January, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is urging women to undergo cervical cancer screenings.
Faith Sandberg-Rodriguez, associate commissioner of Family Clinical Services at HHSC, emphasized the importance of routine screenings, stating, “Routine cervical cancer screening is the most effective way to detect cervical cancer early.” Sandberg-Rodriguez highlighted that some eligible Texas women might be unaware of available services or face barriers to accessing care, and HHSC aims to assist low-income women in obtaining timely cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services.
Cervical cancer ranks as the third-leading cancer diagnosis for women aged 20-39 and the fifth-leading for those aged 40-49. According to the Texas Cancer Registry, approximately 1,489 Texas women were diagnosed with cervical cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cervical cancer screenings for women aged 21–65.
The HHSC Breast and Cervical Cancer Services (BCCS) program offers low-cost and free women’s health services for uninsured and underinsured Texas women who meet eligibility requirements. Services include cervical and breast cancer screenings, clinical breast examinations, mammograms, and breast biopsies.
BCCS supports clinics statewide that provide these crucial screening and diagnostic services. In the fiscal year 2022, BCCS served 30,422 women, including 5,717 who received cervical cancer screenings.
Partly funded through the CDC, the BCCS program receives support from the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which allocated over $8.3 million for fiscal year 2024. The Texas Legislature also contributed an additional $3.4 million in state funding.
To locate BCCS providers or gather more information on women’s health services, individuals can visit the Healthy Texas Women website or call 2-1-1. Further details on how breast and cervical cancer services are provided to Texas women can be found in the "Breast and Cervical Cancer Services: 2023 Statewide Look" document.
