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CHAPEL HILL-- Health problems while serving overseas in 1992 led Pat Gregory to the doctors.

"I was a second lieutenant in the army and you know when you're 24, you're invincible," she recalled.

Doctors found found HPV and early signs of cervical cancer.

"Had I not been proactive in getting the tests and taking care of myself, I would have died," said Gregory, who is the Raleigh chapter president of the National Cervical Cancer Coalition.

At first, Gregory did not what to do and feels more information would have made a big difference.

"I was so ashamed and embarrassed, I was not going to run down to the library and get a book and start reading."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer Society, 380 women in North Carolina were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2011 and 120 women died.

"No one has to die from cervical cancer. There is a vaccine," said Schatzi McCarthy who is the Associate Director of Cervical Cancer-Free North Carolina Program at UNC.

The program launched a directory linking women with resources in their community. McCarthy said the resource helps people with little or no income find more affordable options.

"Because of the health disparity that exists, they often do not have access to health care in the same way that mainstream society may have it," explained McCarthy.

After coming so close to losing her own life, Gregory said the new resource would have made a big difference.

"If I didn't step up and push the issue, I would have had a horrible outcome," she reflected.

Cervical Cancer-Free NC also encourages teenage boys to get the HPV vaccine.

Click here to explore the NC Cervical Cancer resource directory http://www.ccresourcedirectory.org/

Click here to find out more about the Raleigh chapter of the National Cervical Cancer Coalition and the upcoming Raleigh Brides Ball supporting cervical cancer research

http://www.raleighbridesball2012.org/index.php