I know now that there are 5 gynaecological cancers but back
at the end of 2009 I had only ever heard of 2 – ovarian and cervical. So being
diagnosed with a cancer I had never heard of came as a bit of a shock to say
the least. When I was told I had endometrial carcinoma I actually had to ask my
gynaecologist where exactly the cancer was!! I then decided to call it womb
cancer because it was much less of a mouthful!!
I am now a bit more savvy when it comes to gynae cancers and
now know that there are 5 of them. Just in case you don't know all 5 they are womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal - listed in order of numbers diagnosed.
After I finished my treatment in July 2010 I started doing
some research and began to realise that even though womb cancer was the most
common of the 5 gynae cancers there was very little awareness about it and even
less research. There was also no dedicated womb cancer support groups out there
so in 2011, I started Womb Cancer Support UK, which is an online based not for
profit organisation.
It soon became apparent that many of the women who came to
us for support had never heard of this cancer either before being diagnosed with it so
I was determined to make sure that awareness was just as important as
supporting those women who had already been diagnosed.
Over the past 7 years, not only have we supported many women
who have been diagnosed but we have worked hard to raise awareness of womb
cancer. Sadly there is this misconception that it is a cancer than only affects
older women, mainly post-menopausal ones but we know from the women that come
to us that it can affect women of all ages.
We know of at least 2 young women who were diagnosed before
the age of 20; we also know of several young women in their 30’s who have died
as a result of womb cancer; I myself was
told at 46 that I was on the young side to get womb cancer.
We need to make sure that all women (and GP’s) understand that
a woman is #NeverTooYoung to get womb cancer. It can and does affect women of
all ages.
Throughout the month
of May The Eve Appeal is running their
#GetLippy campaign to raise awareness of all 5 gynae cancers – the 3rd week of
the month they are focussing on womb cancer so please get behind the campaign
and help #GiveWombCancerAVoice.
We need all women to be aware of womb cancer and know that
it could affect them. If you are experiencing any sudden heavy bleeding or
bleeding between your normal periods or get any post-menopausal bleeding then
please don’t ignore it like I did. Go see your GP and get checked out. It may
not be womb cancer but if it is then the sooner it’s caught the better the
outcome.
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed, either
recently or in the past and want some support then you can check out our
website or find us on Facebook.
