Rural Women NZ's Maureen Champion (left) and Margaret Scrimgeour have organised a public education event in Te Puke on the signs and symptoms of various gynaecological cancers.
Rural Women NZ's Maureen Champion (left) and Margaret Scrimgeour have organised a public education event in Te Puke on the signs and symptoms of various gynaecological cancers.
Mother's Day this year coincides with World Ovarian Cancer Day on May 8.
In recognition of these two auspicious days, local Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) has organised a health day to educate women about gynaecological cancers.
On May 6, the Let's Talk About Cancers Down There event will take place at Te Puke Memorial Hall from 10am-2pm.
''Women of all ages and stages and from all walks of life are welcome,'' says organiser Margaret Scrimgeour.
Ovarian cancer survivor and founder of Talk Peach Gynaecological Cancer Foundation, Tash Crosby, will talk about the symptoms to watch out for and how early detection could be lifesaving.
Local women Debbie Robins and Sjaan Fahey will be sharing their gynaecological cancer journeys and answering questions.
"While New Zealanders now talk quite freely about breast cancer, we are still prudish about a woman's other reproductive parts and the cancers 'down there' that could kill your mother or your daughter," says RWNZ leader Mary McTavish, a cancer survivor herself.
"The survival rate of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer is less than half that of breast or prostate cancer. One wahine dies from ovarian cancer every 48 hours, which is more than the number of women killed on our roads.''
She says RWNZ wants to put ovarian and the other gynaecological cancers - cervical, uterine, vaginal, vulval - on the same footing as breast cancer.
"Educating women in New Zealand about when to go to their doctor to ask for a CA125blood test and ultrasound could significantly reduce this statistic,'' says Tash.
''Unfortunately, the only gynaecological cancer routinely screened for is cervical cancer - for all others, you need to ask for a test.
"Women ignore the signs as they are similar to symptoms experienced during menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, or post childbirth.''
Symptoms can include bloating, peeing more, unusual discharge, and pain in the abdomen, back, legs, bowel or vagina.
Over 85 per cent of women diagnosed have ovarian cancer detected too late for effective treatment.
Debbie was one such statistic. Horticulturist and mother of three, she was diagnosed with low-grade ovarian cancer in 2019 and given a life expectancy of up to nine years.
"My new motto is, do what I want to do today, not put it off until tomorrow. I want to live the life I have left to its fullest," she says.
Talk Peach Gynaecological Cancer Foundation founder Tash Crosby.
Tash says Debbie's experience is not unique. She says gynaecological cancers' symptoms may be vague and variable and are not ones that you would typically associate with a deadly disease.
"A worrying four out of five women will be misdiagnosed with IBS, constipation, stress, depression, or a UTI".
Avocado grower and mother to three young children, Sjaan Fahey was diagnosed with cervical cancer when she was 33 in March 2020. She was given a 40 per cent chance of making it to her 40th birthday.
Sjaan says the school HPV vaccination programme could probably have prevented her cancer if she had been young enough to have been included.
She urges all young people to have the vaccine before becoming sexually active.
"HPV is the most common STI (sexually transmitted infection) in New Zealand, with 80 per cent of people contracting it at some point in their lives."
For Mother's Day, RWNZ is encouraging a gift that may help save a life; let your mum, your nan, your sister, your daughter, and your friend know about the signs of gynaecological cancers.
A handout of symptoms will be available on the day, but are also online at talkpeach.org.nz.
