As women, we know that most of us put getting a smear test on the very bottom of our to-do lists.
We tend to view the tests, which usually only take minutes to complete, as a nuisance; something that isn't pressing and that we can forget about. But, as we know, it is vital that we regularly get these check-ups.
Cervical Cancer is the 9th most common cancer in women in Ireland, and about 200 women are diagnosed with it yearly.
But, many of us do find the potentially life-saving procedure, embarrassing. And yes, it's awkward, it's not something we get excited about doing but this is why most women can putting getting the test off.
And following the results of a UK survey conducted at the beginning of the year, which showed that more and more women are avoiding smear tests as a result of embarrassment, musician Isabel Munoz-Newsome has spoken to The Guardian about her own diagnosis with cervical cancer.
"Isn’t that ridiculous? I was embarrassed by my own body. Stupid."
This was the crux of the Pumarosa frontwoman's decision to delay her smear test. That was until last year, when two weeks after her band released their debut album, The Witch, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
She is thankfully, free of cancer now, but admitted she was furious with herself:
"I was so angry at myself that I just hadn’t gone because I was embarrassed," she said. "Isn’t that ridiculous? I was embarrassed by my own body. Stupid."
But the fact is, Munoz-Newsome isn’t alone; we've all felt that embarrassment. Because women and their bodies (which obviously includes vaginas) are stigmatised by society; there's a constant narrative of negativity and shame around them, along with pressure to have them looking a certain way.
As the survey findings show, over a third of the 2,017 British women surveyed said that their embarrassment, ranging from concerns over weight, body shape, the appearance of the vulva and worries about smell, prevented them from attending cervical screenings. A third of participants also said they wouldn’t attend if they hadn’t waxed or shaved their bikini line.
More needs to be done, more efforts need to be made to ensure women don't feel this way.
Within a month after receiving her cervical cancer diagnosis, the singer had her cervix removed.
"It was pretty gruesome, but [my] womb and everything is still intact, so I’m still getting periods and that’s still functioning, but …’
Munoz-Newsome admitted that since her diagnosis, she's started to question her fertility and the possibility of parenthood, which could be made more difficult.
"It’s harder to get pregnant,’ she continued. "And once you are pregnant it’s just harder for it to not have complications because [I] don’t have a cervix. The other thing that was quite weird, which I’d never thought about is: if I do get pregnant, I won’t be able to give birth – it would have to be a caesarean, because [my uterus] is stitched up.’
‘Getting a smear test every three years is so important,’ argued Munoz-Newsome.
And we couldn't agree more. Don't put it off - it could save your life.
