“As a woman of 54, I am ashamed to admit I have very little awareness of gynaecological cancers, other than cervical (and much of that is down to the inimitable Jade Goody, bless her). It’s hard to be oblivious to breast or lung cancer, as they regularly hit the headlines, and discussion around them is both open and welcomed, but anything south of the waist, is taboo and, in our terribly Britishness, downright awkward.
I know this, because for the last 4 years, I have gone from the glamorous life of a TV presenter, to a much maligned warrior for leaky ladies the world over, by starting my business DiaryDoll with friend and ex-British No1 tennis champion Annabel Croft.
During a holiday in Portugal 5 years ago, Annabel and I were chatting about our daughter’s concerns during sport, sleepovers or school when their period was due, and the worry about embarrassing leaks at that time. Annabel then went on to tell me that she’s always suffered with heavy periods and vividly remembered her mother giving her ‘a shower cap with legs’ when touring the world and playing tennis in a short white skirt, with cameras all round her.
I was gobsmacked that a simple solution to something so obvious had never been created, when half the population have to deal with this, their entire adult life.
I’d love to say we spent months in a technical lab with big brained scientists, developing the answer, but the truth is, we picked the best selling shape on the high street, (bikini shape, as it happens) put a super soft waterproof panel in it, and widened the gusset (don’t you just hate that word?) to ensure a normal sanitary pad didn’t hang out. Simples.
Our main criteria was they have to be:
- Pretty
- Machine washable
- Silent – no bulk or crackle
In our boundless naivety, we sent a drawing I had done, off to the factory in China, and crossed our fingers and legs, hoping it would all work out OK.
Our journey ever since has been fraught with manufacturing issues (thankfully now sorted after 3 different factories both in China and the UK) money worries, as we have funded it all ourselves so far, and that stiff upper lip attitude, we Brits have about anything in the lady-garden, but we’re still here, still going strong.
Having launched as a teenage product for period leaks, we have now moved into the far bigger, silent epidemic of pelvic floor weakness. If we thought the menstrual cycle was taboo…holy moly, this is a brave new world!
If you’re still having periods, you’re young right? Once you start wetting yourself, you must have one foot in a care home and small faintly of wee, WRONG.
1 in 3 women who’ve ever had children will know about this, but not discuss it. Laughing running jumping, coughing or sneezing all become potential dangers, and don’t even think about joining your kids on a trampoline, girlfriend!
For most, it’s totally fixable with regular pelvic floor exercises, but we still don’t want to discuss it, and the press love to point the finger and use words like ‘confess’ or ‘admit’ which is at best unhelpful, at worst, humiliating.
So why do we know so little about our most intimate parts? Why do we lower our voices at the mention of it, or deem it as ‘impolite’ conversation? After all, we’d all cease to exist without the female reproductive system.
Getting involved with The Eve Appeal, has not only been an eye opener for me, but a wake up call to get involved and join forces to bring this to the attention of women the world over. After all, any one of us could be next.
So many of us are literally dying of embarrassment and ignorance, and that has to stop. As grown women, we need to take control, and understand that early detection can be the difference between life and death.
Let’s all stand together and scream “Gynae Cancers are PANTS”