The Eve Appeal, a gynaecological cancer charity, recently carried out a survey to raise awareness around gynaecological cancers.
As a part of the study, women were shown a diagram and asked to identify different parts of the female reproductive system.
The results were pretty surprising. Almost half the participants didn’t correctly locate the vagina despite 100 per cent of them owning one.
A further 60 per cent were hazy on the vulva.
And less than 33 per cent were able to correctly identify all six parts of the reproductive system highlighted in the diagram.
While obviously there’s a lot of scope for humour here – how many women does it take to locate a vagina? – it’s actually pretty shocking that so many of us are in the dark about the basics of our anatomy.
This ignorance is actually dangerous for our health according to The Eve Appeal as it suggests that women may be slow to spot symptoms of a potential life-threatening health problem.
Also revealed in the study was the fact that 1 in 7 women couldn’t name any types of gynaecological cancer and 1 in 5 didn’t know a single symptom of these types of cancer.
More worrisome still is the fact that nearly a third of those surveyed said that they would be uncomfortable talking about their vagina with a medical practitioner or having a vaginal examination – baffling in this age of body confidence.
The Eve Appeal wants to remind women that they need to take care of their health and be engaged with their bodies.
“This September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month during which 1,755 women will be diagnosed with a form of gynaecological cancer, and 645 will die.”
“This combination of ignorance and embarrassment could be costing lives.”
“We’re imploring women to understand and be aware of what to listen out for. They need to know what’s normal for them.”
“They need to be able to talk openly about periods, irregular bleeding and any changes that they notice to their bodies.”
Scoffing slightly, we decided to test our knowledge and discovered that in fact only 66 per cent of the HerFamily.ie team could correctly locate the vagina. Scarleh for us.
Do you know a vagina from a vulva?
Test your knowledge, can YOU correctly identify labels A-F in the diagram (answers below). Let us know how you got on in the comments….
Visit the Eve Appeal for extensive information on gynaecological cancer.
A: Ovaries, B: Cervix, C: Vulva, D: Fallopian Tubes, E: Vagina, F: Uterus.
