Rural Women New Zealand Alex Eagles-Tully

Rural Women New Zealand is on a mission to inform women of all ages about the threat they face from the gynaecological cancers, which kill our women at a rate of one every 48 hours.

Ovarian and the other four main gynaecological cancers – uterine, cervical, vaginal, and vulval – have been called the 'silent killers' because they are often diagnosed too late to receive effective treatment.

The RWNZ objective is to get New Zealanders talking about the cancers 'down there' and to inform our wāhine of the symptoms to watch out for.

“Many people are unaware of how to even pronounce ‘gynaecological’ (guy-nay-co-lojik-all) let alone that it refers to the female reproductive parts,” says RWNZ Rimanui leader, Mary McTavish. “RWNZ want to educate the public that these cancers can affect women of all ages, from puberty to post-menopausal.”

To get the conversations started RWNZ in the Western BOP is hosting Tash Crosby, ovarian cancer survivor and founder of Talk Peach, to discuss the signs and symptoms of the cancers ‘down there’ and what to say on a visit to a GP.

The talks include Te Puke Memorial Hall, August 20 from 10am to 2pm, and Arataki Community Centre, August 19 from 1pm to 2.30pm.

These talks are in addition to seminars at Tauranga Girls’ College and Te Puke High School senior students.

A presentation will be followed by a question and answer session after lunch with local women sharing their different cancer journeys.

Minister for Women Jan Tinetti, a cancer survivor herself, will also attend. And if ‘the stars align’ so will the Minister for Conservation and Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan who is currently on a cervical cancer journey of her own.

Symptoms

Cervical cancer symptoms include: bloating, abdominal/pelvic/back pain, eating less and feeling full quickly, needing to pee often/urgently, change in bowel habits, heavy or irregular periods, spotting between periods, bleeding after menopause, bleeding/spotting after sex, painful intercourse, itching around the vulva, lumps/swelling in the vagina, changes to skin on the vulva e.g. lumps, red/white patches.