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
White Saviourism – Why would I ask you to save me, when you can’t even save yourselves?
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the term white saviourism, but not all of you may be familiar with what it actually looks like in practice. Originating from colonial thought – Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden” is where this whole thing started. Let’s go back in history, to a time where the UK and Continue Reading
Endo – what?!
From the time I started having my periods at age 11, I do not remember having a pain free period. I spent my teenage years going from doctor to doctor for relief. Most of them told me that it was my “normal”, gave me pain killers and anti-nausea medication then would send me on my 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
Stop making your equals pay for a seat at the table!
So, recently there was a post here on our Cysters platform that highlighted concerns around race and cultural stigmas within the community which is meant to be empowering women to take care of their bodies – NO MATTER WHAT COLOUR IT’S WRAPPED UP IN! The reason why I’m writing this post today is that it Continue Reading