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Team Maureen

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Our Mission

Our Mission

Team Maureen’s mission is to end cervical cancer by educating about the HPV cancer connection and the importance of prevention and early detection.

Worldwide, every two minutes a woman dies of cervical cancer. Current estimates indicate that every year 500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 270,000 die from disease (more than 50%). After age-standardization, cervical cancer ranks as the second most frequent cancer in women in the world.

In the US, almost 14,000 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, over 4,300 of whom will die. However, cervical and many forms of gynecological cancer are treatable with early diagnosis and some can be prevented with vaccination against HPV (human papillomavirus). See the stats here.

Maureen E. Russo, our namesake, was a loving sister, daughter, wife and mother who passed away from relapsed cervical cancer at the age of 37. Team Maureen (The Maureen E. Russo Nonprofit Organization) was founded in 2007 by her family and friends as a promise to keep her spirit alive. Since then, Team Maureen has grown to be a nationally recognized leader in HPV-related cancer prevention.

Sisters Video...our 'why'

Who is Maureen?

Maureen Ellen (Duffey) Russo
October 10, 1969 - December 15, 2006

Who is Maureen
Maureen was born in Framingham, MA on October 10th, 1969 to the proud parents of Rachael and John Duffey of Hudson, Massachusetts. She was the 3rd child in a family of two boys and two girls. In high school she lettered in gymnastics, track, soccer, and cheerleading and graduated from Hudson High School in 1987. She went on to Springfield College to become captain of the Gymnastics Team. She competed at a national level and received many athletic accolades at college, as well as being on the Dean’s list as a business major.

She married Mike Russo, her highschool sweetheart, in 1993 and had two beautiful children, Gabrielle and Domenic. Mike and Maureen were happily and lovingly together for 20 years. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2003 and was treated at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In remission for almost 3 years, the cancer returned in 2006. The aggressive form of cervical cancer took its toll on Maureen. Despite her endurance and courageous battle for 6 months, she lost her battle to cancer on December 15th, 2006 at the age of 37.

All through battling cancer twice, Maureen never complained and in fact was more concerned for others than herself. She loved life, and lived it to its fullest (as evidenced by the fact that she had taken her kids to Disney 5 times in 5 years). She adored her children and was dedicated to all her family members and friends. She had an infectious laugh and a great sense of humor as well as the warmest and most giving heart. Maureen displayed courage, perseverance, enthusiasm, dedication, determination, and leadership each day of her all too short life. The quote she selected for her head stone reflected how she lived life.

“It is not how much you do, but how much love
you put into the doing that matters.” – Mother Teresa

Partnerships and Accolades

Team Maureen has educated thousands upon thousands of lay people and providers through community events, schools, presentations, and media. Our projects and educational materials have been adapted and adopted by organizations across the USA. We have been highlighted in webinars, published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and received prestigious awards.

Invited memberships in recent years include:

  • The President’s Cancer Panel
  • American Cancer Society’s (ACS) HPV National Roundtable
  • ACS’s Cervical Cancer National Roundtable
  • ACS Workgroup on HPV Stigma
  • ACS Workgroup on Patient Education for Primary HPV screening
  • Communications and also the Survivors Task groups of the ASCCP’s Consensus Building process for new cervical cancer guidelines
  • Steering Committee for the National ACS Primary HPV Screening Project
  • MA Comprehensive Cancer Planning Team

Some of our Partners:

Awards:

  • 2017-- Massachusetts Immunization Action Partnership Award
  • 2019-- Sandra Labaree Award from the New England American Cancer Society
  • 2020-- DFCI Volunteer Award for Community Service

Our Sponsors

Thank you to those who make our work possible


Foundations and Major Donors:
Academy of General Dentistry Foundation
American Cancer Society
Cape Cod Health Care
Dana Farber Cancer Institute Community Benefits
Falmouth Road Race Foundation
Falmouth Track Club
Lyndon Paul Lorusso Charitable Trust
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
Woods Hole Foundation

Steve and Lisa Kenney
John Duffey