Susquehanna University will host a screening of the documentary Someone You Love: The HPV Epidemic at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in the Degenstein Center Theater.
Narrated by Vanessa Williams, this documentary looks at the lives of five women affected by HPV, the widely misunderstood and controversial virus that causes several types of cancer, including cervical.
Each of these women has an intimate story to tell. For Susie, Tamika and Christine, it's a story of survivorship that comes with misconceptions, stigma, shame, heartbreak, pain and triumph. For the Forbes family, it's about coping with the loss of their daughter, Kristen, and trying to prevent it from happening to others like her. The cameras also follow Kelly, who at 31 years began her cancer journey, on her epic battle to save her marriage, her career, her family and ultimately, her life.
Eighty percent of all people under 50 years of age will have a strain of the virus at some point in their lives and most will not even realize they have it. Cervical cancer is almost exclusively caused by HPV and it is the second leading cancer in women. Worldwide, cervical cancer kills over 250,000 women every year.
Susquehanna's screening is cosponsored by the Student Health Center and the Panhellenic Council.
The documentary will be followed by remarks and a question-and-answer session from documentary producer Cheryl Staurulakis, whose son, Nick, is a 2016 Susquehanna graduate.
Someone You Love: The HPV Epidemic is directed by Frederic Lumiere and written by Mark Hefti.