We could have simply printed eye-catching posters or leaflets however we felt that was not enough. Leaflets are easy to pick up and read but just as easy to discard and forget.
The ‘handbag’ card, designed by Gill Harler, fits perfectly into a credit card holder or purse as a constant reminder of the symptoms of ovarian cancer and more importantly provides something tangible and attractive to keep the awareness message alive.
We could have simply printed eye-catching posters or leaflets however we felt that was not enough. Leaflets are easy to pick up and read but just as easy to discard and forget.
The ‘handbag’ card, designed by Gill Harler, fits perfectly into a credit card holder or purse as a constant reminder of the symptoms of ovarian cancer and more importantly provides something tangible and attractive to keep the awareness message alive.
When you open the front flap of the card two important messages are revealed.
The first encourages you to BE AWARE and the second challenges an important misconception that a cervical smear also detects ovarian cancer, it does not.
The NHS cervical screening programme (NHSCSP) was established in 1988 but at the present time there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer.
Continue to open the card and it reveals the acronym A-C-T NOW!
The letter A is a list of the main symptoms of ovarian cancer.
While it is not an exhaustive list and patient experiences do vary, most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, when asked, agree that they suffered with at least one and often several of these symptoms prior to diagnosis.
Ovarian cancer has been called the ‘silent killer’ as it can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages. The symptoms are common to other conditions and indeed a lot of women will experience them periodically throughout their lives, however the symptoms of ovarian cancer are consistent and do not usually come and go.
This leads us on to the letter C for consistent and perhaps more importantly concern.
No one knows their body better than you do, so if you are experiencing any of these symptoms and this is not normal for you, take heed, and read the next letter in our acronym.
The letter T is perhaps the most important.
Talking to a doctor about your symptoms and concerns is key to achieving an early diagnosis and a successful treatment outcome.
BE AWARE of the not so silent symptoms ACT NOW…… SAVE LIVES!
