Timetomakeastand

Dear Editor,

It’s time to make a stand.

Did you know that one in seven diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year die within two months after diagnosis?

We are being failed. Enough is enough.

On Tuesday June 28, I am marching to No 10 Downing Street, alongside Target Ovarian Cancer campaigners, to hand in our open letter signed by 20,000 people.

Together, we’re demanding the government takes action on the awareness crisis in ovarian cancer.

In 2019 I was working long hours in the City of London.

With a daily commute, busy lifestyle and regularly visiting my sick mum, I was tired.

But, like many women, I ignored this and continued on.

Then one night, I felt a painful lump in my tummy. It was a tumour. I was later diagnosed with stage IIIa ovarian cancer. For me, ovarian cancer affected my whole body.

My right leg bloated due to deep vein thrombosis and a clot on my lung was discovered.

I had intense surgery to drain my kidneys and remove the tumour, as well as a total hysterectomy and many other procedures. I then underwent six rounds of chemotherapy.

Ovarian cancer changed my life, and with no screening in place it is essential that we are all armed with awareness of symptoms.

This means the cancer can be found earlier, and outcomes are significantly improved. No one should die because of a late diagnosis.

Four out of five women cannot name the key symptom of ovarian cancer, bloating. This needs to change.

I’m writing to ask your readers to take just two minutes of their time to learn the symptoms and spread the word to their families and friends: persistent bloating, feeling full or having difficulty eating, tummy pain, and needing to wee more often or more urgently.

Become part of this movement to make change happen in government today by campaigning to improve the lives of people affected by ovarian cancer.

Catherine Hunt

Dear Editor,

The cost of living crisis currently affecting all of us clearly demonstrates the need for effective price controls rather than that shown by the likes of Ofgem in the energy market, which is tokenistic and largely ineffectual .

Inflation is here with a vengeance and is stoked by enormous hikes in gas, electricity, petrol, food and transport prices.

Recently the buffoon that is Boris Johnson mentioned a lot of measures which could possibly help but he omitted the one that would have the biggest and most immediate impact – Price Controls.

Without statutory Price Control, the energy and retail monopolies will continue to make a killing.

On the petrol forecourts giant corporations such as BP and Shell and in the big supermarket chains retail prices are growing at twice the rate of wholesale costs.

And it is questionable if last month’s 5p per litre cut in fuel duty was transferred as intended to motorists.

Oil company profits have almost trebled in just 12 months.

The big food producers and retailers are passing their increased costs onto consumers, with added interest as we seen with Sainsbury profits doubling and Tesco’s have trebled.

Only last week Tate and Lyle announced a special dividend to

Costoflivingcrisis

shareholders totalling £500 million.

Tinkering around the edges with cuts in excise duties, import tariffs and VAT are meaningless unless they deliver lower prices. Windfall Tax revenues can be put to good use but they are also an incentive for companies to raise prices.

Only statutory price controls on specific strategic and essential products will curb the price increases. Jim Milligan, Motherwell

A young Wishaw entrepreneur is hopeful of bringing some glamour back to the town centre with the opening of her new fashion boutique.

Kirsty McAlinden, 24, started her online clothes business during lockdown and has now opened her first store on Stewarton Street.

Well done, and so nice to see a young person catering to the older ladies’ fashion needs. I hope your business goes from strength to strength. Karen McLauchlin

Good on her and she’s such a lovely girl as well.

My daughter was in buying a dress the other day and she couldn’t be more helpful.

Lauren Marshall

Well done to you, it’s great to see young ones getting on with it.

William McArthur