The Northwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition (NWGRCC) hosted a mother-daughter Dinner and a Movie Night event designed to encourage open communication and discussion with families of middle and high-school-aged girls. After the film, a panel of local healthcare professionals presented on “coming of age” issues and watched the movie “Someone You Love.” Shortly after the film ended, I noticed a young Hispanic girl crying. She appeared to be in her early 20’s. She and her mother had accompanied her middle school-aged sister to the event. I approached the young lady, and She informed me that she had two bad pap smears and was scared. She explained that she was a newlywed and didn’t understand how to sign up for insurance, but she was pretty sure her husband had insurance through his employer.

Her mother began speaking in Spanish and I started to realize why she had accompanied her mother and little sister to the event. She was the interpreter. The mother expressed that she wanted to help her daughter, but she struggled because she didn’t speak English. The mother stated that she had a tumor in her cervix at one time but was okay now. She didn’t want her daughter to end up in a situation like hers. Both mother and daughter appeared to have limited knowledge regarding follow- up care after an abnormal pap. They were fearful, anxious, and lacked understanding regarding the diagnosis , procedure and results. The NWGRCC was able to step in and help the young lady understand her test results. Additionally, we helped her schedule her colposcopy and paid for the procedure. She was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.