You, Me And The Big C podcast host Lauren Mahon speaks to LIZ CONNOR about how we should be empowering women to talk about health issues

LL the parts that make me woman were turning against me,” says presenter and women’s health activist Lauren Mahon, while recalling her battle with reproductive health over the last decade.

When the Girl Vs Cancer (girlvscancer.co.uk) founder was diagnosed with endometriosis in her late 20s, she felt a deep shame around the fact that her body wasn’t working in the way society tells us it should.

Lauren, who also co-presents the hit BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C, was then diagnosed with breast cancer at 31.

She was told she may have issues with fertility and she is now going through medical menopause.

Today, she is determined to speak up about her varied experiences with health to empower other women to feel less fear and embarrassment around their issues.

“As soon as my hormones started kicking in, it’s always been a bit of a battle for me,” says Lauren.

“In my early 20s, I had a Bartholin cyst on my vagina. We’re told that lumps are cancerous, so it was really scary for me – but it was only because doctors found a lump that I was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis.”

The painful disorder – in which cells like the ones lining the womb grow outside your uterus – will affect one in 10 women in the UK and Ireland.

Despite its commonality, it takes women an average of seven years to be diagnosed with the condition, and new research by Bodyform has shone a light on the psychological impact of the disorder.

Two-thirds of women (68%) who experienced endometriosis, as well as fertility issues, miscarriage and menopause, said that being open with family and friends helped them cope. Yet the same research found that a third of women feel society wants them to keep silent about their experiences (21%).

“Women really struggle to be heard when it comes to their health,” says Lauren.

“They’ll often go to the doctor in pain, but be told it’s PMS or Crohn’s Disease, and be sent away with the wrong diagnosis.

“I was suffering silently with endometriosis between the age of 19 to 25, and I’m 35 now.

“Back then, when I was struggling to be heard, the conversation wasn’t happening at all.”

Lauren is now supporting Bodyform’s new campaign, called #wombstories, which aims to give voice to women’s various health struggles, and to challenge the idea that women’s femininity is linked to their fertility.

Lauren says that at the peak of her health battle, she felt completely lost, especially dealing with endometriosis as a young woman.

“I felt a lot of shame around it. I saw myself as weak, as I was unable to deal with my regular periods.

“I was going to walk-ins and the advice I was getting, was that they were ‘normal’ period pains.

“There were days where I was shaking and trembling on all fours and having to drag myself to the bathroom and hold on to the side of the bath to brace myself, just to go to the toilet, because the pain was so excruciating.

“It impacted my job and it was difficult to explain to my boss why I needed to take time off, because I couldn’t get any answers from the doctor. It put pressure on my relationship, too.

“All this stuff was going on in my life and I blamed myself, because I felt so much shame around the health issues I was experiencing.”