Why it's time to talk about below-the-belt cancers

Maria Lally

Updated Sun, May 6, 2018 at 6:00 AM UTC

During May, women's charity The Eve Appeal is joining forces with the beauty industry to to raise awareness of gynaecological cancers - Lauren Rolwing

Every year, 21,000 women in the UK develop a gynaecological cancer. Yet it seems we’re still a nation too shy to speak up, with a fifth of women feeling unable to speak to their GP about their symptoms.

This is why women’s charity The Eve Appeal and the beauty industry’s Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) have joined forces to launch Get Lippy. The campaign, which aims to raise awareness of gynaecological cancers, runs throughout May, and is backed by top beauty retailers such as Space NK, Harvey Nichols, Tesco and Oliver Bonas, and brands including Elemis, Vaseline, Hourglass, Eos, Lipstick Queen, Bali Balm and Smashbox.

Gynaecological cancer research remains hugely underfunded, with just 0.4 per cent of all research funding being invested in the area. ‘It’s disheartening to see that many important issues affecting the health of women still remain taboo subjects,’ says Professor Lesley Regan, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

‘This stigma still prevents many women from seeking help. But by encouraging women to speak out about gynaecological health, we can educate about signs and symptoms, which leads to earlier detection and saves more lives.’

Karen Hobbs was just 24 when she began bleeding after sex and in-between periods. ‘I went to my GP, who gave me a smear and a two-week referral for a colposcopy (a procedure that looks at your cervix and womb). The nurse examined me and said, “I’m just going to get somebody more senior,” and right away I knew I had cancer. The doctor said we still had to wait for the results, but he said he’d be surprised if it wasn’t cervical cancer.

‘Two weeks later, we found out it was. I had more scans and they found it was grade 3, stage 1b, which meant it was small, but nasty. Crucially, it hadn’t spread and I could have an operation to remove it, and I didn’t need chemotherapy. I’m 28 now and technically as fertile as before, but I have a 20 per cent chance of a late miscarriage because my cervix would need a stitch during pregnancy, to support the baby.

‘However, if I’d ignored the bleeding, or felt too embarrassed to tell my doctor, I would have been in a much worse situation. It’s been drummed into us to check our breasts for lumps, but we still have a way to go when it comes to talking about more embarrassing symptoms.

Gynaecological cancers | What to look for

‘Hopefully this campaign will reach a wider audience and make gynae health as much of a priority as breast health.’

‘We’re thrilled to be working alongside powerful retailers and brands to deliver a vital health campaign,’ says the CEO of The Eve Appeal, Athena Lamnisos. ‘Get Lippy will provide the platform for awareness and fundraising that the Pink Ribbon has given to breast cancer and Movember to men’s cancers.’

For more information, visit eveappeal.org.uk