WNBA guard Erica Wheeler is using her platform to deliver a message she wishes she could give her late mother: “Get the test.”
The Seattle Storm point guard lost her mother and best friend, Melissa Cooper, to stage 4 cervical cancer during Wheeler’s junior year of college, a loss that continues to shape her life and advocacy more than a decade later. Now, 12 years after her mother’s death, Wheeler is speaking out to encourage women—particularly Black women—not to delay routine cervical health screenings.
“I just want to encourage women to get the test… please,” Wheeler told theGrio, describing the subject as deeply personal. “Had I known what I know now, things would be a lot different.”
Wheeler has been especially vocal during National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, observed in January, though she stresses that the urgency of screening should extend year-round. She is partnering with medical technology company Hologic through its “Ultimate Defense” campaign, which aims to spark conversations between patients and healthcare providers about cervical cancer prevention and available screening tools.
“Go, get your routine Pap smear and HPV test, please,” Wheeler said. “I do not want anybody to experience the pain that I experienced. I wish I had a voice telling me to do these things in 2012 when my mom passed away.”
Wheeler reflected on how easily preventative care can be postponed, especially for women balancing work, family, and financial pressures. She noted that her mother was a single parent raising three daughters, a reality that made it easy for health appointments to be delayed.
“How many times have you had to reschedule an appointment and say, ‘I’m going to reschedule it,’ and then life gets too busy?” Wheeler said. “We can put things off, and it can be too late sometimes.”
Medical experts say Wheeler’s message is especially critical for Black women. Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified OB/GYN, stressed that cervical cancer is among the most preventable cancers when screening guidelines are followed.
“Cervical cancer often does not cause symptoms in its early stages, which is why regular screening is so critical,” Shepherd told theGrio. “Black women are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages and are twice as likely to die from cervical cancer compared to white women.”
Doctors recommend Pap tests every three years for women ages 21 to 29, and Pap plus HPV co-testing every five years for women ages 30 to 65. Studies show that co-testing detects up to 95% of cervical cancer cases, though experts stress the importance of maintaining annual wellness visits in addition to screening schedules.
Shepherd also highlighted that lack of insurance should not prevent women from receiving care, noting that free or low-cost cervical cancer screenings are available through community health centers, local health departments, federally qualified health centers, and nonprofit clinics.
For Wheeler, advocacy is a way to honor her mother’s legacy.
“My mom is watching every step,” she said. “I always want to honor her, to make her proud. I can’t let my girl down.”
Through her career and her public health advocacy, Wheeler hopes to spare other families from the loss she continues to carry—by encouraging women to speak with their doctors, stay up to date on screenings, and make their health a priority.
