Mogul Health: The Big C
By C.Creed
Hello Mogul Ladies!
As we are getting into Autumn and before any excuses due to the Big “C” Day (Christmas) starts to be thrown around like confetti into every conversation… Repeat after me “Book my smear test today”.. after reading this article!”.
Why do you feel like I’m shouting or at least looking through the pages at you right now…Because I am.
WHY?
The smear test save lives and literally takes minutes to be done. 11000 world wide woman get diagnosed, 2000 Black women will be diagnosed and 40 percent will die within 5 years.
The rate of deaths from cervical cancer in the USA is increasing, In Bristol UK the amount of women getting the test done is at a 19 year low.
BACKGROUND
You can get cervical cancer from infections like the HPV Virus.
Why do you not want to get it done?…
I do understand, yes, if the results mean you need more investigation, that it is scary, as no one can predict the unknown. However, it is also positive as you can get treatment, live and get on with your life.
It is curable & treatable if caught early.
EXCUSES
Maybe it’s because you haven’t… Done a neat design.. #nurses&doctorsdontcare. We are more likely as a healthcare professional to be thinking about when can I have a coffee, break, lunch or what chores I have to do when I get home, or all of the above.
Please trust me when I say the above, as we are not admiring the view we are just wanting to get the swab to get the cells needed and sent off for testing for you.
WHEN TO TAKE TEST
Every 3 years, from the age of 21-49 in the USA and we in the UK are fighting for this age too. You are allowed to take a friend or relative in with you, but by the time you are taking your underwear down and the friend/relative are trying to sit on the right seat in the room you will be pulling them back up and finishing – the test its that quick.
WHAT IS THE TEST
I don’t know of any religion where you are not allowed a smear test as you are not losing blood and we are not taking blood. We take out a stick from a tube that looks like a long earbud, we wipe the long earbud-style stick inside the cervix using a speculum, to help you relax your cervix, try placing your legs into a Frog like pose.
I know it does not sound glamorous and it’s not. This test is so important and so easy to have done.
SYMPTOMS
Do not wait until you get symptoms, you need to go every 3 years.
Symptoms can change from woman to woman. These are some of them:-
Change in bleeding in between cycles, unusual discharge, pain during sex, pain during douching and pain in the pelvic/abdominal area.
Find your inner mogul let’s be fierce about this own our body get it done and then relax.
A quote from Maya Angelou- “I’m interested in women’s health because I’m a woman, I’d be a darn fool not to be on my own side”.
“I don’t know much about it, who can I talk too?”
“I don’t know much about it, who can I talk too?”
“What if they find something wrong? I’m scared to know the results”
“Is there a difference between cervical screening and a smear test?”
“Do I need a smear test if I’m not sexually active?”
