Many know cervical cancer as the disease’s most preventable form. But it’s a very different story in Eastern Europe, where the topic is taboo.
When Icó Tóth was diagnosed in 2011 after the birth of her daughter, she struggled to find any information at all about her condition in Hungary. She felt alone in her suffering.
But rather than despair, she got active. With help from Federation partner JDC’s Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP), which works for early detection and prevention of breast and cervical cancer in Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina, she began her own advocacy organization, Mellow Flower.
Working in over 70 villages across Hungary, Mellow Flower visits schools to educate young girls on cervical cancer vaccines. It also offers support to women undergoing treatment or in remission, while discussing rehabilitation strategies and other issues.
Icó says she can’t overstate how much JDC helped her organization’s growth. “I had no place to meet, you gave it to me. I had no money to buy even a carpet, you bought us one. Big things can happen when you get help like this.”