Link 2 Hope | Connecting women to Yes Cerv! program

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) -January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

In central Kentucky, the Yes Cerv! was launched in 2021 to provide women with free lifesaving screenings.

In this Link to Hope, how Kentucky CancerLink can connect women in under-served communities with the help they need by using someone to navigate them in a language they understand.

As a patient navigator with Kentucky Cancer Link, Gabby Meis helps to not only educate, but eliminate barriers for many who are unsure of where to turn.

As a bilingual navigator she helps serve many in the Hispanic community.

For a lot of people Meis says being from another country, not being having the same language and also she says if there is a situation with status they may think reaching out could affect that somehow.

Breaking down a language barrier can sometimes be the difference of what gets someone the lifesaving screening they need.

“I think there is a lot of people who are unaware of the situation and they don’t know where to go,” said Meis.

In the case of 48-year-old Nabit Flores, she has only been in this country for five years.

The mother of two and teaching assistant was introduced to Kentucky CancerLink within the Latino community.

We sat down with her for an interview, Meis helping to translate.

Nabit Flores told us that once she started with her mammograms, she decided to get a pap test and after a couple of visits that’s when doctors detected the cancer.

Kentucky CancerLink helped connect here with the Yes Cerv program.

The program, through CHI Saint Joseph Health provides free cervical cancer screenings for those underinsured or uninsured.

For Flores, it turned out to be a lifesaving decision, when doctors found early-stage cancer, they found she only needed surgery.

It was a frightening time, but Flores had a built in support system.

Flores told us she is thankful that with God and with Kentucky CancerLink she has another chance for life.

And that’s why Gabby Meis says the job she does is so important.

“Just being able to communicate and just to talk to them over the phone, they already have a person to count on,” said Meis.

It’s a link to hope that Nabit Flores, a cancer survivor is hoping others in her community will utilize.

Flores is urging every woman in the Hispanic community to get screened and to not wait.

To connect with a patient navigator at Kentucky CancerLink call 859-309-1700 or 877-597-4655.

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