Put concerns around smear tests to bed – say doctors
An Oldham women’s group will be told that getting a test for cervical cancer has never been easier or safer and that they MUST go to theirs’ to avert the condition that killed Jade Goody.
According to Cancer Research UK, 99% of cervical cancer cases are preventable if detected and when needs be, treated.
But anxiety, embarrassment and fear of pain are putting women off attending, despite what Mr Nagui Aziz Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist calls, “amazing advances in testing in the last few decades.”
The Royal Oldham Hospital physician added: “I observed as a junior doctor that my normal routines and protocols have gradually evolved over the years to a completely different practice. Thanks to new computerised facilities and new technology that supported research and helped our understanding and application of a safer and more efficient prevention and treatment even for cervical cancers.”
This reassurance will be emphasised at a meeting held by the Women’s Chai Project in Oldham this Thursday by women’s health expert Dr Anita Sharma. She will also raise concerns that some girls are not taking-up vital HPV vaccinations, which detect the virus that causes 75% of cervical cancer cases. Administered to 12–13-year-old children at school, some parents have refused permission for the doses to be administered, due to what Dr Sharma calls, “vaccination hesitation and fake news.”
She said: “The life-course approach for cervical cancer is prevention. That should encompass education, vaccination, screening and attending for smear test when invited,
I am deeply concerned when I hear that fathers in some households are opening mail addressed to daughters, sisters and mothers and making decisions on their behalf. Women need to be in control of their own bodies and health if we want to prevent the pain of conditions including endometriosis, the menopause and cervical cancer.”
One of Dr Sharma’s patients Maryam (not her real name) concluded: Mariam (not her real name) said: “I am nervous when it comes to getting my smear test but am more anxious about the prospect of getting cancer. I have missed letters reminding me about appointments, and think to myself “who is my husband to make decisions about my body?” I also wonder if his embarrassment about these issues prevents him from having prostate and testicular cancer checks?”
The Women’s Chai session “Let’s talk about cervical cancer” takes place on Thursday 26th at the Honeywell Centre, Oldham. There are limited places, so please contact najma@womenschaiproject.co.uk
Take some time to read GP Online…
... Where you will find our founder Dr Anita Sharma’s tips for medics on how to avoid rejected gynaecology referrals”.
One of our charity’s key aims is to increase awareness amongst healthcare professionals of conditions such as endometriosis. Particularly as our very first survey revealed a staggering lack of knowledge, even amongst our clinicians!
Go to https://bit.ly/3ZLgaQW
Drs - have stomach to fight endometriosis
An Oldham nurse whose crippling condition has now reached her BELLY BUTTON is making a desperate plea to doctors to understand her condition, better.
Endometriosis, which affects one in ten women of child bearing age, has meant near constant bleeding for Lucy Bowker since her early teens.
But the 24-year-old has met with a constant brick wall of disbelief from medics who dismissed her agony as, “a heavy period.”
Now Lucy has joined forces with Endometriosis Awareness North .
“Our small charity has spent its first few months surveying and meeting clinicians and medics, and has discovered a frighteningly high level of ignorance, with some believing patients merely have back or menstrual pain” said charity creator, Dr Anita Sharma.
In Lucy’s case, befuddled doctors actually removed her appendix at one point to cure her abdominal pain. Meanwhile, over the years, she somehow countered a haemorrhage, hospital infections and remarkably managed to give birth.
“My life has been littered with hospital attendances” commented Lucy, “I would be treated in A&E and receive strong painkillers before being sent up to the ward for ‘pain management’ which consisted of a junior doctor reviewing me and prescribing another medication which inevitably would not work. I just felt nobody took me seriously or listened to my concerns. That is the position for a lot of women with endometriosis.”
Three-quarters of sufferers admitted to an Endometriosis Awareness North survey recently, that they felt “desperate,” with 11% saying they were currently having dark thoughts.
Yet diagnosing endo can take up to seven years.
“If this were a condition that resulted in men enduring agony, time lost from work, plans cancelled constantly and people constantly questioning your pain, I am sure treatment would be better and even a cure forthcoming” continued Dr Sharma, “but here is another example of women being treated like second class citizens.
We are so pleased Lucy is with us. The fact that she is a nurse means there will be somebody on the front line, batting for women with endometriosis and countering the prejudice against those with the condition.”
Concluded Lucy: “The doctors I was seeing at the hospital were not specialists in endometriosis. My management consisted almost solely of pain relief. It is so crucial that you get that diagnosis. It may not be a magic label that makes things better, but it does allow you access to treatment options.
Endometriosis is now encompassing almost every aspect of my life and has now reached the glands near my kidneys. It causes me immense pain and prevents me from working as often as I want to; and the impact of endometriosis on my medical health is quite separate from the affect it has on my mental health. I am not able to engage in activities a typical 24-year-old would.
However, I do now have people on my side and am determined to do my bit to help other women in my position. That is the only way we can really move forward.”
Find out what we're really about, on film
Click onto our brand new movie, detailing what Endometriosis Awareness North is all about Endometriosis Awareness North - YouTube
Featuring our treasured case study Courtney, it also gives medics a platform to call for quicker diagnosis of endometriosis.
With thanks to filmmakers Andrea Bertozzi and Pete Gibson Media.