Memphis HPV Roundtable | December 2025

Dear Memphis Roundtable Members,

December arrives in Memphis with a blend of celebration and reflection. As holiday lights begin to glow across the city and the year draws to a close, we are reminded of just how much collective effort, resilience, and heart have shaped our work in 2025. This season invites us to slow down, savor our accomplishments, and honor the partnerships that continue to drive meaningful impact across our community.

As we wrap up another year of advancing HPV vaccination and strengthening local connections, the Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable is grateful for the dedication each of you brings to this mission. Together, we look ahead to a new year filled with opportunity, renewed collaboration, and a shared commitment to protecting the health of families across Memphis and Shelby County.

As we think about what is to come next year, we want to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to complete the 2025 membership and engagement survey.

In this edition of the monthly communication, we cover:

Fact or Myth: Separate Fact from Fiction
What’s Happening with the Memphis Roundtable
Year End Review
Membership Engagement Survey
HPV Vaccination Data Profiles: Shelby County and Tennessee
Partner Spotlight:
Upcoming Events

If you have any ideas and/or questions, please reach out to Akeria Taylor with the St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program at akeria.taylor@stjude.org.

If you missed the November 2025 monthly communication, access it here.

Fact or Myth: Separate HPV Facts from Fiction

Myth: Pap tests and annual check-ups are effective, so there is no need for HPV vaccination.

Fact: The idea that Pap tests and annual check-ups eliminate the need for HPV vaccination is incorrect. Both are needed for those who have a cervix and HPV vaccination is recommended for everyone.

Vaccination is Primary Prevention: HPV vaccination prevents initial infection with the high-risk HPV strains that cause the majority of cervical cancers and other HPV-related cancers (vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal). HPV vaccination works best when administered on-time at ages 9-12 before any exposure to the virus.

Screening is Secondary Prevention: Pap tests and HPV screenings are secondary prevention methods; they detect pre-cancerous cell changes, presence of high-risk HPV types, and/or cervical cancer after infection with HPV has occurred. These tests may help manage or treat abnormal cells before they develop into cancer or detect cancer early, but they do not prevent the initial infection itself.

HPV Vaccination Does Not Cover All Strains: While the current HPV vaccine protects against nine HPV types responsible for almost all cervical cancers, it does not protect against all cancer-causing HPV types. Therefore, regular cervical cancer screening is still crucial to detect potential issues from non-vaccine HPV types.

Screenings Have Limitations: Screening programs, while highly effective at reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality, still have limitations and do not make complete elimination of the cancer feasible on their own.

Prevention is Better Than Treatment: Detecting precancerous lesions through screening often requires procedures to remove the abnormal tissue, which can have associated risks. Vaccination aims to avoid these infections and procedures altogether.

In summary, combining HPV vaccination with routine cervical cancer screening offers the strongest protection against cervical cancer. Health authorities recommend both strategies to work toward eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.

2025 Recap: A Year of Impact and Growth for the Memphis Roundtable

As we close out the year, we reflect on the progress made and the meaningful work accomplished through the collective efforts of the Memphis Roundtable. This year, we focused on four key priorities: Engagement and Membership, Health Care Provider and Professionals Education, Data, and Communication. Below are some highlights of our activities in these areas:

Engagement and Membership

We welcomed 51 new members, bringing our total to 201, representing over 34 organizations.
Hosted a mid-year meeting with 47 attendees.
Hosted a successful 5th Annual Meeting with 52 health care professionals, advocates, and community leaders in attendance.

Health Care Provider and Professionals Education

Participated in the virtual Tennessee Immunization Provider Expo, reaching over 600 providers.
Hosted three Announcement Approach Training sessions for over 60 local health care providers and professionals, emphasizing the importance of strong recommendations and confident conversations to ensure timely HPV vaccination.

Data

Monitored local HPV vaccination rates, showing a 14.7% increase in Shelby County from 2019 to 2025.
Presented our local data findings at the 2025 International Cancer Education Conference, sharing our work with a global audience of 172 attendees through a poster presentation. Highlighted how the Roundtable has elevated education strategies as a core priority to advance HPV vaccination within our community.

Communication

Successfully distributed our monthly email communication each month, reaching more than 450 members with a 38% open rate.
Launched the It’s Our Way in Memphis communication campaign and distributed nearly 400 of these materials.

Together, these efforts have strengthened our community and advanced our mission to increase HPV vaccination coverage across Memphis and Shelby County.

We Want to Hear from You: Memphis Roundtable Membership Engagement Survey

This survey is designed to help us better understand your experiences, needs, and priorities so we can continue strengthening connections, fostering collaboration, and supporting HPV vaccination efforts across Memphis and Shelby County.

Your feedback will directly inform our 2026 membership engagement strategy, guide planning for upcoming events, and ensure that our collective work remains meaningful and impactful. We know that engagement looks different for everyone; whether you stay connected through newsletters, attend meetings, or actively participate in planning and implementation efforts, your voice plays an important role in advancing our shared mission.

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. All responses will remain confidential, and findings will be reported only in aggregate for program improvement.

We sincerely appreciate your time, insight, and partnership as we continue building an even stronger Memphis Roundtable network. To complete the survey, click here.

Memphis and Shelby County HPV Vaccination Data Profile

The Memphis Roundtable has a comprehensive resource highlighting the latest Shelby County, Tennessee data on HPV vaccination rates and HPV cancers. The data profile shows improvements and also provides a clear picture of both our progress and the challenges that remain.

The data profile was developed to equip health care providers and professionals, public health leaders, and community partners with the knowledge and tools needed to strengthen HPV vaccination efforts across our region. Beyond sharing numbers, the profile also serves as a call to action. It encourages new and existing partners to join the Memphis Roundtable’s efforts, aligning community voices around the shared goal of protecting adolescents and families from HPV cancers.

To access the HPV Vaccination Data Profile for Memphis and Shelby County go to stjude.org/memphis-roundtable or click here for direct access.

It’s Our Way in Memphis Communication Materials Available

The Memphis Roundtable has communication resources available for you to promote HPV vaccination as cancer prevention. The It’s Our Way in Memphis campaign materials are available for local clinics, health care providers and professionals, and community partners. Building on the HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast It’s Our Way Down South campaign, this Memphis-specific campaign highlights Memphis’s unique character and charm while promoting the importance of HPV vaccination.

The collection includes postcards, posters, social media images, and retractable banners. All materials are co-brandable, giving partners the opportunity to showcase their own logos alongside the Memphis Roundtable’s, reinforcing our shared commitment to protecting adolescents and families from HPV cancers, while promoting HPV vaccination. These resources are a powerful reminder that advancing HPV vaccination is truly our way in Memphis.

If you and your team are interested in using these materials or co-branding them with your organization’s logo, please complete our request form to gain access to the campaign resources. To request printed copies, complete our print materials request form or email us at PreventHPV@stjude.org. These materials are available at no cost to you.

Newly Released Tennessee State HPV Vaccination Data Profile

The St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program is excited to announce the release of the updated Tennessee HPV State Data Profile. This profile features the most current data available for Tennessee and provides a clear snapshot of HPV vaccination coverage and HPV cancer trends across the state.

The updated profile is a valuable resource for:

Outreach and education efforts
Program planning and evaluation
Sharing with community partners and champions

We encourage you to explore the new data profile and share it widely within your networks to help advance HPV cancer prevention efforts across Tennessee. If you would like printed copies of the state data profile, please email PreventHPV@stjude.org.

Partner Spotlight: Protecting Our Family Members

This month, we are grateful to Benita Carney, RN, MEd, for generously sharing a joyful family milestone with us. Benita, who serves as the Memphis Roundtable’s General Representative and was the 2024 Brooke Morgan Community Champion Award recipient, embodies what it means to lead with both expertise and heart. Recently, she proudly shared that her two granddaughters received their HPV vaccines at River City Pediatrics, marking a meaningful family milestone. Moments like these remind us that HPV vaccination isn’t just a public health strategy—it’s a personal act of love, protection, and empowerment. Benita’s advocacy, both in the community and within her own family, beautifully reflects what our mission is all about: ensuring every child in Memphis and Shelby County has the opportunity to grow up free from preventable HPV cancers. Her example continues to inspire our Roundtable network and reminds us why this work matters for every family across Memphis and Shelby County.

Photos provided by Benita and Mark Carney.

Learn More about the Memphis and Shelby County
HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable

The Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable, established in 2021, is a collaboration of health care, community, and advocacy partners with a mission to measurably increase HPV vaccination coverage in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. The St. Jude HPV Cancer Prevention Program provides support for the Roundtable. To learn more about the Roundtable or join our efforts, please visit stjude.org/memphis-roundtable. If you have organizational or member information we should highlight in our communications, please contact us at PreventHPV@stjude.org.