Dora Mills gives keynote address at annual Boone Lecture in Aroostook County

 Dora Anne Mills, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, vice president for Clinical Affairs, traveled to Aroostook County in northern Maine to deliver the annual Boone Lecture to a group of health leaders on October 14, 2015.

She was invited and hosted by the Northern Maine Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and the Aroostook Medical Center to be the keynote at this annual dinner and evening event, honoring Storer Boone, M.D., who practiced in Presque Isle for 46 years (1921 – 1967), following in the footsteps of his father, who also practiced medicine in the area for 46 years. 

Mills, whose mother was a native of the area, introduced her own Aroostook County roots and discussed some of the illnesses seen in the area during the time of Boone’s career, including the most common cause of cancer death among women, cervical cancer.

She then segued to the topic of the evening, the HPV vaccine, which has stirred controversies among some circles. According to Mills, the HPV vaccine not only has been shown to be safe in the over 100 million doses that have been administered worldwide over the last decade, but it also prevents other cancers, in addition to  cervical cancer, as well. Mills says the vaccine is recommended for all teenagers, boys and girls, and has important public health ramifications.

At the conclusion of her talk, Mills took questions from the audience and noted the presence of Gary Boone, Ph.D., a geologist, the son of Storer Boone.