“Speak up for yourselves – ask questions”
Vicky’s Call campaign launches to help women speak up in the consulting room
“No woman in Ireland today, any day, should be afraid to talk about her own gynaecological health”
That is the message behind a new social media campaign, Vicky’s Call being launched today (Thursday,10th September) by the 221+ patient support group. The campaign aims to help women tackle the stigma around gynaecological health, and to empower women to ask the necessary questions in their meetings with healthcare professionals.
The campaign launch coincides with the beginning of Gynaecological Oncology (gynae cancer) month. Today is also gynaecological awareness day which aims to break the silence around gynaecological health.
The campaign will be based on a new Instagram account, vickyscall_ireland, and will provide information about gynaecological health – including gynaecological cancer and the experiences of 221+ members and other survivors. The account will share health literacy information, encouragement to ask questions and the tools to do so. Practical outputs will include tips for preparing for appointments, the kinds of questions to ask the doctor, your rights as patient and more.
We all came to know women’s health advocate and 221+ co-founder Vicky Phelan because she refused to stay silent: “I think that’s what we need to learn in this country – we need to ask more questions and not worry what people think”.
The work done by Vicky and others has brought improvements to cervical screening service delivery and open disclosure legislation. Even with these huge steps forward, part of making sure you get the health care you need will always be learning from Vicky’s experience and standing up for yourself when you need to. Like Vicky we need to be more open and make talking about gynae health a normal thing.
The campaign therefore asks us all to open up about our gynaecological health. It will be a space for current 221+ representatives to share their experience, encourage greater awareness and inspire confidence in women to take up the baton Vicky offered us.
For background
Recent research commissioned by the Irish Network for Gynaecological Oncology, supported by Breakthrough Cancer Research, found that 1 in 7 women are too embarrassed to go to GP with gynaecological cancer symptoms, with 1 in 5 avoiding going to doctor due to not wanting to speak to GP receptionist about symptoms. The misconception that cervical screening checks for all 5 gynaecological cancers is still prevalent. Most ovarian cancer diagnosis in Ireland are unfortunately at advanced stages of the disease[1]. Yet early detection for all gynaecological cancers is incredibly important for improving survival rates[2].
All of this points to a clear need to discuss gynaecological health more openly and promote accurate information about gynaecological cancer.
Campaign plans:
AIM 1: Empower women within their own healthcare journeys to speak up, ask questions and work with healthcare practitioner towards timely care
AIM 2: Increase awareness of gynae cancer symptoms and cervical cancer prevention
AIM 3: Normalise talking about gynae health and anatomy, as crucial to supporting early diagnosis
Through content partnerships with other prominent patient rights and cancer support organisations in Ireland 221+ will convert health information, tips and experience into accessible content on social media.
ENDS
For reference:
Lily Fox: lilyfox@221plus.ie / communications@221plus.ie
Vicky’s Call campaign Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/vickyscall_ireland/
221+ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/221plus.ie/
221+ website: https://221plus.ie/
[1] NCRI, CancerTrendsNo.14-CancersoftheOvary.pdf
[2] Dr. Claire Thompson, quoted on Breakthrough Cancer Research website here: https://breakthroughcancerresearch.ie/news/one-in-seven-women-in-ireland-avoid-gp-visits-due-to-embarrassment-discussing-symptoms/