Despite being of ill health, and Suzanne having just had an operation recently still managed to spend the evening at the
Parkstone Hotel in Prestwick where she was invited to attend by the
president of the Rotary Club Henry & his lovely wife Irene.
Suzanne was there on behalf of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. She gave a presentation by very briefly sharing her own fight
with cervical cancer.
Suzanne was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer when she was pregnant - with her youngest daughter Aaron.
Hernightmare began when doctors discovered a tumour the size of a tennis ball blocking Aaron's arrival.
They immediately delivered her by C-Sect - but she haemorraged. She was then given a hysterectomy to stop the
bleeding which thankfully saved her life.
After months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and 24 hour internal radiation on the tumour, she was eventually in
remission.
Since battling cervical cancer Suzanne's organised fundraisers, cancer events, talks at local schools and libraries on
behalf of Jo's Trust over the years.
Her daughters now often join her at most of her fundraisers, and they all have a fantastic day knowing how much they
could be helping to save someone's life.
Suzanne's since built
her own business in public relations, is currently writing her first
book, is continuing to work alongside Jo's Trust & the Scottish
Government and still raising funds throughout the year for various other
cancer charities too.
A couple of years ago she had the pleasure of being invited to the 'International Women's Day' & met The Prime
Minister at No.10 downing street where they discussed new policies on Cervical Screening and raising cervical
awareness.
Suzanne has managed to gain plenty of media
attention through radio, tv and newspapers for cervical Cancer
throughout the years.
Her presentation included how she found it difficult to find information or a support service to help her during the
cancer but after treatments she found Jo's Trust.
She shared the following information with the Rotary club members;
Jo's Trust is the only UK cervical cancer charity with a team of 5.... They are a very small organisation and do
rely on donations.
Jo's Trust was Established by a man named James Maxwell following the death of his wife, Jo (aged 40) from
cervical cancer in 1999
James and his wife found it difficult at the time to find a support network of any kind solely related to cervical
cancer, so after the death of his wife Jo, he decided to set up a charity purely for Cervical Cancer issues.
The Charity still have strong ties with James Maxwell and his family.
Jo's
are based in London but also work across the UK.
To give you an indication of how small Jo's Trust is there income between 2010-11 was only £436,268
Am happy to say though that this year it was estimated at around £600,000 so it is gradually increasing.
Since battling Cervical Cancer herself she has found Jo's Trust a huge support in helping her and her loved ones get
back to a normal life and said, ' they've given me the strength to fundraise, raise awareness and set up my own
cervical cancer website which am hoping you will all join me on....it's FREE as well by the way! You can find my website here; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cervical-Cancer-Awareness/243367494595
In the UK:•Cervical cancer as some of you may already know is the Second most common cancer in women under
35•
3 women a day will die of cervical cancer•
3300 women a year are diagnosed –1 every 3 hours!•
300,000
women a year are told they have some form of abnormality•
BUT please don't let me scare you all too much as Survival is very good if the disease is caught early. Cervical
Cancer is largely preventable.
The reason it is largely preventable is through Screening and vaccination
Regular screenings basically save lives It's as simple as that
Yes it's not the most pleasant of experiences, it may be mildly uncomfortable, but it is a few moments every few
years out of your life that could potentially save your life.
Screening age is currently from 20 in Scotland but still remains at 25 in England
Screening saves around 5,000 UK lives a year
4.3 million women were invited in 2010-11 with a huge 800,000 of those women ignoring there invitation
Almost 40% of women aged between 25-29 didn’t attend...why?
We're not really sure why younger women are so reluctant to attend there screenings but that is
something at Jo's
Trust are looking into at the moment.
For the past 10 years screening rates have been very low (apart from the year Jade Goody died, there was a great
increase then) but not now, which is why we are raising awareness as often as possible now.
Coverage rate of 78.6% was the second lowest since 1999in the UK
The HPV vaccination uptake in 2010-11 was over 84.2%
The HPV — human papilloma virus injection, minimises the risk of cervical cancer in later life. which is why
SCHOOLGIRLS as young as 12 are being offered the cancer-restraining jab.
Suzanne was extremely lucky when her eldest daughter Jordan had her HPV jabs as she attended her school as a
Scottish Cancer Survivor/Supporter/fundraiser, while she had them done, she was there raising the HPV issues with the local
media, pupils and members of staff. "It was a really emotional day for us but probably one of the happiest days
too, I was so proud of her. " Now many girls may decide for whatever reason that they don't want to have there jab
at the school, that's ok, if your daughter has a fear of needles or something else then you can take her to your own
GP who will give her the jabs at the clinic, so it is less stressful
for her. Suzanne's youngest daughter Aaron is due to have her
HPV jabs next year and she does have a real phobia of needles and doesn't want to have it done at the high school,
so there doctor has offered to give her the jabs at her local clinic to make it less stressful for her too and she'll feel
more comfortable in a calmer environment.
Suzanne also has taken part in the launch of the HPV along with her daughters and has written many features about the
HPV .
Now if vaccine uptake continues... then By 2025 there could be a 2/3 reduction in incidence in women under 30 if
uptake averages 80% ...Now that would be a massive achievement.
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust are there to Support those affected in any way by cervical cancer, whether your a
relative, friend, patient they are there for you as they have been for Suzanne and her family over the years and still
are.
They will provide you with all the information you will need on prevention and there services
They also take various campaigns to the government.
•Jo's Trust have set up a Helpline –0808 802 8000: and the helpline is Manned by trained volunteers affected by
cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities.
•Jo's have an Online forum:where many people are currently sharing experiences and also offering each other
support, which is often
great when you don't feel like approaching your family or friends for whatever reason, but
the support lines and forum are there for absolutely anyone.
•‘Jo's have an annual event called Let’s Meet ’ which my husband and I will be attending this year :and it's an
Opportunity for you to meet face to face at our annual information event.
You will have the opportunity of choosing what workshops you'd like to attend throughout the day, and beverages
and lunch are also provided. The meeting can be a bit emotional but are very informative, fun, inspiring and
everyone leaves feeling great and having made some new friends too.
•Jo's also have an Ask The Expert advice section on there website: which is where Individuals can post a medical
question
to our expert panel and is dealt with in the strictest of confidence
and sensitivity, Suzanne still finds herself using
the experts to this day as she is often asked medical questions on her own website. They currently have a panel of 30
medical experts available to help you.
They also have Support Groups across the UK, unfortunately at the moment we don't have one set up in our area
yet as Suzanne doesn't start her support leader training until
October, but watch this space as she will be setting up a support group
in our
area very soon which she is absolutely delighted about, and can't wait to get started.
:The support groups in place just now however are Targeting major cities across the UK providing face to face
support
for women affected by cervical cancer. A support group starts in
Glasgow on the 27th of this month, details of which can be found on Jo's
website.
All the–information about cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities can be found on there website at
jostrust.org.uk.
-The information is Reliable and accurate
•there are Factsheets on cervical cancer, cervical screening, HPV testing, LLETZ, HPV, and HPV vaccine
•You can download all the fact
sheets.
Jo's Trust are delighted also as theyare now being certified by The Information Standard as producers of reliable
health and social care information.
Suzanne gave the Rotary members an insight into what Jo's Trust represent and how dedicated and passionate such a small
charity can be....without Jo's over the years she has no idea how she would have coped let alone the millions of other
women who've sought advice and support from them. Without women like Suzanne who've shared there own
experiences with cervical cancer and women who are currently going through treatments sharing there
experiences with others in need of support, Jo's just wouldn't be as successful as they have been in preventing
cervical cancer. So if your a parent with a daughter, please stop and think about her future health, encourage her
to have the HPV jab as Suzanne has with her daughters, if you know of someone who
hasn't been for a smear test yet,
tell them about Jo's Trust and let them read about or hear about the true facts for themselves. Just give then a
gentle nudge in the right direction and remind them...if you love life then you'll do everything in your power to
stay healthy...right?
Suzanne would just like to extend a
huge thanks to Henry and his lovely wife Irene for inviting her 2
daughters and herself along to there meeting.
They all were
treated like honoured guests, provided with a slap up meal and
refreshments. Suzanne said, "I felt extremely honoured to have been invited and look
forward to meeting them all again soon. It' was an absolute pleasure
meeting everyone especially Henry's wife Irene who is currently being
treated at the Beatson for ongoing Cervical cancer at the moment.
Myself and the team at Jo's Trust wish her a full and speedy recovery."
You can find out more about
Jo's Trust here: www.jostrust.org.uk
To visit Suzanne's awareness page please visit: https://www.facebook.com/Suzanne060672?ref=ts