Chance to become leading BSL area

Dear Editor, As a deaf teenager, I was excited when the Scottish Government published its British Sign Language (BSL) national plan in October.

It means the council now has one year to write its first ever BSL local plan, and I’m interested to see what they come up with.

Promoting and raising awareness of BSL is really important – if more people knew just a little BSL it would be easier for users to understand and to be understood.

I know from my work campaigning and volunteering with the National Deaf Children’s Society that the national plan is just one step on a long road to equality for deaf people.

I hope it will help me access information and public services so I can make informed decisions about, for example, my education, health, and employment opportunities.

We need the local plan for North Lanarkshire to be both ambitious and achievable.

With the right support, deaf people can do anything their hearing friends can.

This is now a huge opportunity for local authorities to put that support in place.

Let’s make North Lanarkshire a leading area for Scotland’s BSL users to live, work and visit!

Rhys Wilkie, Coatbridge Ovariancancer Dear Editor,

March is ovarian cancer awareness month – a time when charities come together to raise awareness of a terrible disease which takes the lives of 4100 women in the UK each year.

Ovarian cancer steals an average of two decades from women’s lives. That means missed anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and first days of school; countless hugs and cups of tea.

Identifying the symptoms of ovarian cancer (stomach pain, bloating, feeling full more quickly, and needing to wee more frequently) is currently the best way to diagnose the disease, but most symptoms present in later stages when cancer has already begun to spread.

With your help, we can change this and protect future generations from the devastating effects of ovarian cancer.

Launched this month, our campaign #StolenMoments aims to raise £1million to help us develop a new screening tool that detects precancerous cells so that they can be removed as early as possible.

This test could stop ovarian cancer in its tracks and give women more time with the ones they love.

For information on ovarian cancer, or to donate to the campaign, visit www. ovarian.org.uk. Thank you for your support.

Katherine Taylor, Ovarian Cancer Action chief executive