Clare Baumhauer “There was no awareness campaign for Lichen Sclerosus or Vulval cancer so we started our own.” But what is Lichen Sclerosus? Clare Baumhauer tells us more about her story, I was diagnosed in 2016 with lichen sclerosus and stage 3 vulval cancer. Shocking and scary to get diagnosed with cancer but to be told Continue Reading
What is endometriosis?
By Odelia Thomas (Instagram @she.is.lotus) After sharing my journey with endometriosis, I have had questions about what it really is, so in today’s post, we will talk a little bit about what it is. Why is so little known about a disease that affects an estimated 1 in 10 women worldwide? Why do so few Continue Reading
The Love Your Period Campaign: Behind the Scenes
The Love Your Period Campaign: Behind the Scenes The ‘Love Your Period’ Campaign was set up by 17-year-old Molly Fenton in March 2019 and is run by Molly and her 12-year-old sister Tilly. Hi there! My name is Molly, founder of the LYP campaign. After spending time off school due to illness, I decided to Continue Reading
PCOS: Only a Reproductive Disorder?
Elizabeth Schneider, MS If you’re like me and ever curious about your body and its functions, you’ve probably ‘Googled’ your condition, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This search typically yields the same sort of results about PCOS symptoms: ‘irregular menstrual periods, excess body and facial hair, obesity, infertility, etc.’ Having done this a few times, I, Continue Reading
Period Shaming
By Sheila Harrington Jane Garvey, one of Women’s Hour’s presenters, recently sent a pre-show tweet saying that she was going to be talking about how women feel about having sex while on their period (period sex). Some of the replies she received were as follows: ‘Crikey’ A range of disgusted GIFs ‘It’s just eeewww to Continue Reading
Embracing your health with pelvic floor exercises
Written by Sneha Battin The secret to a better you, comes with understanding your own body and working towards achieving it. No, I don’t mean heavy weight loss programs (pfft!) or unimaginable-and might I add painful cosmetic treatments that concentrates on the outer beauty. I am talking about the inner you. You. Your health. About Continue Reading
Let’s talk about sexual consent…
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, women and men are more willing to break taboos and talk more openly about their sexual experiences including sexual assault and rape. This is good news. However, it does highlight one important issue – do we understand what consent is in a sexual context? How do we give Continue Reading
Cervical Cancer Screening & HPV Vaccine Update
Somewhere in the world, a woman dies every 2 minutes from a totally preventable illness. Cervical cancer takes the lives of 900 women in England alone each year. It is the biggest killer of women aged under 35 years. The national vaccination program targeting 12-13 year old girls which started in 2008, has made a Continue Reading
Redefining Strength
What does it mean to be strong in a world where it is defined by stoicism and physicality? Is it still possible to strong when you exist beyond these categories? The more people I meet, the more I begin to realise that strength is to exist in the face of adversity. And adversity exists in Continue Reading
Sandwell and West Birmingham Healthcare Trust partners with Cysters
Cysters have formed a partnership with Sandwell and West Birmingham Healthcare Trust to tackle issues around women’s health, including period poverty. Period poverty is on the rise in the UK and Sandwell and west Birmingham is known to be one of the most deprived areas in the country meaning that many people will be struggling Continue Reading