HEALTH MATTERS
DR Mike Clark, GP with High Street Surgery, Macclesfield and clinical lead for cancer care at NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group
It’s hard to believe it will be 10 years in March since the death from cervical cancer of reality TV star Jade Goody.
Jade was aged just 27 and may well have survived if she had undergone the regular screening tests that detect the disease in its early stages.
That’s why GPs in Southern Derbyshire have been working to prevent other needless deaths by supporting Cervical Cancer Awareness Week.
Did you know cervical cancer can often be prevented?
This means:
Attending a cervical screening when invited.
Knowing the symptoms of cervical cancer and seeking medical advice if you’re experiencing any pain.
Taking up the HPV vaccination if you’re aged 11-18 years old.
Knowing where to find support and further information.
A smear test takes around five minutes and can be a little uncomfortable, but it’s a very small price to pay to reduce your risk of developing the cancer.
The best ways to reduce your risk are to practise safe sex (i.e. wearing a condom, limiting your sexual partners among other things) and avoid smoking.
The symptoms are not always obvious and you may not have any at all until it reaches an advanced stage.
That’s why it’s so important to attend for screening when invited by your GP practice.
When there are symptoms, they often include:
Unusual bleeding Lower back/pelvis pain
Severe pain in your side
Peeing or pooing more than normal.
Listed below are some are some stats and figures.
1. Two women lose their lives to the disease everyday
2. Nine women are diagnosed with cervical cancer everyday
3. 75 per cent of cervical cancers can be successfully treated with early detection.
PROVIDING assurance of the rights for our friends, neighbours, colleagues from EU countries to stay in this country is the right thing to do.
Many have made their homes, started families and contribute to the economy in our towns. The government seems intent on making this assurance very weak indeed.
The Liberal Democrats have temporarily succeeded, in the House of Lords, in amending the Withdrawal Bill to require these people to be provided with physical proof of their right to stay after we leave.
The government proposes an electronic only system, but this will leave many of them vulnerable to discrimination in the job market.
We know there are humanitarian reasons for looking after the rights of decent people who came here in good faith often to fill very highly skilled jobs, roles in academia and in the NHS and care sectors and yet the government, including our own MP, seem willing to throw vulnerable sectors under the proverbial bus.
Why is that? We keep being asked to bring the country back together by the very politicians who engineered the rifts we see.
The petty, small minded government acting in this way will not achieve this.
There are estimated to be 18,000 EU citizens in Cheshire East along with many more Britons who are appalled by our actions.
There are still calls for Big Ben to ring out our exit from the EU.
Posts across local social media call for the bells in our local churches to follow suit. How will this be viewed by families still apprehensive about staying? What about companies looking to invest in our towns?
A continuation of the politics of division and hate will further damage our great country’s reputation across the world.
To bring people back together we must reject the extremists who represent only themselves.
The Liberal Democrats have always taken this view and will continue to do so in the future.