Our Mission
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, over 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, over 4,000 of whom will die (about 30%). Each day in the US, about 30 women learn that they have cervical cancer. However, cervical and many forms of gynecological cancer are treatable with early diagnosis and, with the utilization of HPV vaccines, may be preventable.
The Maureen E. Russo Nonprofit Organization was founded as a promise and in memory of Maureen E. Russo, a loving sister, daughter, wife and mother who passed away from relapsed cervical cancer at the age of 37. To honor that promise and keep Maureen’s competitive spirit alive, Maureen’s family and friends founded Team Maureen in 2007 as a Pan Mass Challenge cycling team to raise funds for cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, MA. That fundraising has grown to form a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting and preventing cervical cancers.
Team Maureen’s mission is to end cervical cancer by educating about the HPV cancer connection and the importance of prevention and early detection.
In the US, over 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, over 4,000 of whom will die (about 30%). Each day in the US, about 30 women learn that they have cervical cancer. However, cervical and many forms of gynecological cancer are treatable with early diagnosis and, with the utilization of HPV vaccines, may be preventable.
The Maureen E. Russo Nonprofit Organization was founded as a promise and in memory of Maureen E. Russo, a loving sister, daughter, wife and mother who passed away from relapsed cervical cancer at the age of 37. To honor that promise and keep Maureen’s competitive spirit alive, Maureen’s family and friends founded Team Maureen in 2007 as a Pan Mass Challenge cycling team to raise funds for cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, MA. That fundraising has grown to form a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting and preventing cervical cancers.
Team Maureen’s mission is to end cervical cancer by educating about the HPV cancer connection and the importance of prevention and early detection.