I left determined to do what I could to help them & so Pap Smear Express was born. I wasn’t sure how Sam Mac would react to the idea but to his credit he was right on board. Next was convincing my boss that it should be called the “Pap Smear Express”, for some reason the word “smear” seems to put quite a few people off. I stood strong on this one, we need to get over our petty issues with certain words and get on with preventing cervical cancer. The words VAGINA, VULVA & SMEAR may make some of you uncomfortable but I promise you cancer is a lot worse.
Sam Mac & I were overwhelmed with the public’s response & was shocked at just how many of you had been avoiding getting a pap smear. Some had gone their whole lives & never had one.
We heard many of your stories on air & we also heard from Amy Fidler a young cervical cancer survivor whose complacency almost cost her life. Amy had an irregular pap smear result, waited 9 months to follow it up, a tumour was found, finding fighting cancer aged 27. The bus left the station this morning & we had women from all walks of life on board, however there was a common bond. All had neglected their own well being for far too long, me included. Everyone seemed a little on edge, I was especially worried about a girl named Ricki who was quite emotional as she had, had an irregular result a little while ago & never got it checked out.
When we arrived the ladies from Marie Stopes were out the front to greet us, they were absolutely fantastic. We all piled in & filled out the necessary forms & began the wait. One by one the girls went in & when the first one came back out with a huge grin on her face everyone relaxed a little. For some it was quite confronting, for others no where near as bad as they had anticipated. or me, I felt like I’d taken back a little control over my health. We will all get our results on Friday week & I will keep you all posted on how it goes. To all the women out there reading this now, be it a pap smear, a breast check or anything else that may be worrying you about your health, GO & GET IT CHECKED OUT. You are ALL important, valued individuals who deserve to feel human. To all the men out there who made it past the word VULVA in capital letters if you have a lady in your life you care about, remember to have the care to ask if she’s ok. Thanks very much to Adams Coachlines, GAIN & Marie Stopes for making this possible & to all of you for embracing the word smear. Em x

“Ladies, I rarely circulate anything as a mass-email, but this is something that deserves our support. Kath Mazzella has almost single-handedly brought the topic of women’s gynaecological health and well-being out of the stirrups and into the light of day. A survivor of Vulva cancer and horrendous surgical mutilation, Kath found little support after the mental and physical trauma of the operation. For over 15 years she has campaigned for more information, more awareness of options, more follow-up care, and more compassion for those who suffer from gyn cancers. She founded GAIN, which has done a great deal to assist women cancer sufferers. My own mother went through misery with this nearly 40 years ago and I never really appreciated how difficult it was for her, both physically and mentally. When I told her about Kath’s work, she said she wished she’d had that sort of support when she was going through the surgery and afterwards. Please take a moment to read the following, watch Kath’s video, and give her your support.”. Regards, T

Through the vision of International Gyn Awareness Day we can help educate, better acceptance would be in the world but also show how special and how magnificent women are.

I applaud your years of dedication to women.!!

Well done.

Kath Mazzella