This May, we are Getting Lippy with gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal. Their vision is bold and ambitious but simple at its core: to make gynaecological cancers a thing of the past.
We are proud to support any campaign that can highlight important health issues and we want to help raise money to support life saving research. Throughout the month of May when you purchase a Hebridean Sea Salt Scrub 50ml or 200ml, 10% of the sale will be donated to the campaign.
Funds raised will go towards life-saving research into the prevention and earlier diagnosis of all five gynaecological cancers; womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal. Every year the charity joins with some of the UK’s leading health and beauty brand’s and we are thrilled to be amongst those brands for this year’s campaign.
Aside from raising much needed funds, the charity also helps to raise awareness on the topic, encouraging people to seek medical help and not dismiss symptoms too easily.
New research by The Eve Appeal has found that nearly 1 in 3 women said they would feel nervous, anxious and uncomfortable speaking to a doctor about a gynaecological health issue (30%). 1 in 4 said that they would feel embarrassed (25%).
Nearly 2 in 3 women surveyed (60%) said that seeing a female GP would help them feel more comfortable getting gynaecological symptoms checked. Other things that would help them feel more comfortable include seeing a GP they knew specialised in women’s health (46%) and if they had previously had a positive experience with their GP (40%).
1 in 4 women said they would feel more comfortable getting symptoms checked if they saw a GP they knew (24%), and if the GP prompted them to open up by asking questions like “Is there anything else bothering you?” (23%).
Athena Lamnisos, The Eve Appeal CEO, says:
"We know that health prevention and early diagnosis are key when it comes to cancer and that’s a two-way street. We need patients to feel informed and confident and we need doctors to support open conversations and dispel embarrassment. Throughout May, we’ll be highlighting this issue and providing tips and information which will stop women thinking ‘it’s probably nothing’ and ignore possible symptoms and get them checked.”
Dr Aziza Sesay, GP, says:
“As a GP, these statistics don’t surprise me. I’ve seen so many women who come in with one issue, and then once they feel more comfortable, they open up about something else they’ve been struggling with for a long time, usually in silence - often too embarrassed to mention it at first. From symptoms of prolapse and urinary incontinence to bleeding after menopause and vulval swelling. Sadly, in some cases, the delayed presentation has led to a cancer diagnosis at a later stage. Destigmatising conversations around these symptoms and breaking the taboo can quite literally save lives.”
Get Lippy raises awareness of the key symptoms, breaks down the taboos that stop people accessing medical help, and raises money to fund research into the prevention and earlier diagnosis of all five gynae cancers.
You can support by purchasing our Hebridean Sea Salt Scrub here.
