One in three women IGNORE deadly signs of women’s cancers – so it’s time to #GetLippy and break down the taboos
ONE in three women are putting their lives at risk by ignoring the signs of cancer, it's emerged as a new campaign #GetLippy launches aimed at breaking down taboos.
The Sun's columnist Deborah James is supporting The Eve Appeal's pledge this May, to raise awareness of the five gynaecological cancers.
In the UK some 58 women are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer each day, that's 21,000 women a year. Of those, about 21 women die every day.
And awareness is extremely low, The Eve Appeal warned. Often the first a woman has heard of womb, ovarian, cervical, vaginal and vulval cancer is when a doctor is telling her she has the disease.
Research from the charity suggests that screening all women for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes would prevent 17,000 cases of breast cancer and 64,000 ovarian cancer diagnoses a year.
Launching the #GetLippy campaign, Deborah told The Sun it's vital more women feel empowered to speak out about their lady bits, and their health.
Deborah, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 35, said: "We must start to break down the taboos people have when it comes to talking about our bits.
"This relates so closely to The Sun's own campaign, No Time 2 Lose, which is all about raising awareness of the signs of bowel cancer and breaking down the taboos in that area too.
"No women should feel embarrassed at the thought of going to talk to their GP about any of these issues - believe me, they've heard worse.
"One in three women are ignoring potentially deadly symptoms because of embarrassment, it's got to stop.
"It's normal to worry about these things, and to feel uncomfortable talking about them.
"But letting that embarrassment get the better of you really can be the difference between life or death.
"Catching cancer early means you can live, so get yourself checked and chances are you won't have to deal with late-stage cancer like I have."
The campaign also has the backing of Michelle Heaton, who had a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer, comedian and actress Helen Lederer, breast cancer survivor Lauren Mahon and Dr Ellie Cannon.
Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of The Eve Appeal, said: "We are thrilled to be working alongside such a breadth of powerful brand partners and beauty names for Get Lippy and their support is so important in making these health issues easier to talk about.
"Challenging taboos and raising awareness, the Get Lippy campaign will be a huge boost towards funding for The Eve Appeal’s pioneering research to save women’s lives through the early detection and prevention of all five gynaecological cancers.
"We all need to Get Lippy this May, and every May from now on."
Nearly one in five Brit women are too scared to talk to their GP about their health concerns "down there" and a third don't see their problems as being serious enough to warrant a visit to the doctors, the charity said.
Some 41 per cent of women under 35 believe they are too young to develop gynaecological cancer, which include cervical cancer, ovarian, vaginal, vulval and womb cancers.
And nearly a fifth of women would wait four weeks before speaking to a doctor if they had symptoms, with women aged between 46 and 55 the most likely to ignored the signs.
Caroline Neville, president of CEW, added: "We believe the Get Lippy campaign will make a lasting impact on women’s health.
"I’ve always felt very strongly about encouraging women to speak out, speak to each other and take responsibility for their own health.
"Get Lippy reflects the current cultural relevance around female solidarity and women coming together to speak out for themselves.
"By being bold and standing together, we can break taboos and start a continuing dialogue that will save women’s lives."
The campaign also aims to educate women about their bodies.
When shown a drawing of the female reproductive system some 46 per cent of women couldn't locate the vagina, 60 per cent didn't know ehere the vulva was and only one in seven could name a single gynaecological cancer.
And nearly two thirds of British women didn't know what womb cancer was, despite it being the fourth most common women's cancer.
Professor Lesley Regan, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: "It is disheartening to see that many important issues affecting the health of women and girls
still remain taboo subjects, and that stigma still prevents many women from seeking help.
"By encouraging women and men to speak out about gynaecological health, we can educate more people about the signs and symptoms of gynaecological cancer which will lead to earlier detection
and more lives saved.
"Women should feel comfortable to speak up about their health without fear of shame or embarrassment."
MORE ON WOMEN'S HEALTH
The Eve appeal is inviting women and men to get involved by buying a lipstick, lip balm or lip gloss from a Get Lippy partner and "pout for a purpose" by sharing a picture of themselves online.
For every product sold in May £1 will be donated to the Eve Appeal medical research programme.
The retailers supporting this year’s Get Lippy campaign in May are Tesco, Harvey Nichols, Space NK and Oliver Bonas and beauty brands include Vaseline, Hourglass, Bali Balm, EOS, Elemis, Lipstick Queen and Smashbox.
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