Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month

September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month. To mark it, Consultant Gynaecologist Narendra Pisal shares the five top things that you can do to reduce your risk of getting any gynaecological cancers:

Have regular smears

Smear tests look out for abnormal cells well before they become cancerous. By treating any abnormality, the risk of developing cervical cancer is reduced significantly. Please see your GP for a smear test if you haven’t had one in the last 3 years. Please look at our blog on how you can make smear tests more comfortable.

HPV vaccination

This is currently being offered to girls and boys in secondary school. Vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus reduces the risk of cervical cancer by nearly 90%. It will make a huge difference to the incidence of cervical, vaginal and vulval cancer as well as cancer of the throat. It is also available at a later stage but only privately. A lot of women think that HPV vaccination can only be taken before becoming sexually active, but evidence suggests that there is still a significant benefit up to the age of 45. If you would like to consider having the HPV vaccination, please contact us.

Give up smoking

Smoking is known to affect immunity and also increases risk of various cancers including cervical, vaginal and vulval cancer. There is a lot of help available to quit smoking; please see your GP or contact us and we can put you in touch with the right steps to give up smoking.

Maintain a healthy BMI

We know that increased body mass index (BMI) is associated with endometrial cancer. This is because of the oestrogen produced in the adipose tissue which leads to endometrial stimulation. It is therefore important to maintain a healthy BMI, particularly if you’re going into your 40s, 50s and 60s. This is best achieved through a combination of nutrition and exercise. Our nutritionist Laura Southern can give you advice on this; if you would like to speak to her please contact us.

Look out for any unusual symptoms

These symptoms are: bleeding between periods or bleeding after sex or bleeding after menopause. Any irregular bleeding should be reported to your doctor, particularly if it is persistent. We can also see you for any of these symptoms. A lot of medical insurance companies do not need a GP referral if you have one of these symptoms, and you can come and see us directly with their authorisation on a rapid access basis. Other unusual symptoms to look out for are bloating, lower abdominal discomfort, indigestion (particularly in your 40s and 50s, which sometimes can be an indication of ovarian cancer symptoms). Please see your GP or come and see us at London Gynaecology to organise a scan and a blood test called CA125.

We work with two charities: Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and The Eve Appeal, who have very informative websites as well as online forums. Please visit them and support them so that they can continue doing their work of increasing awareness. We would like to work with you to keep you healthier for longer.

Consultant Gynaecologist Julie Bowring Joins The Team

Miss Julie Bowring is a Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health at Homerton Hospital, London. She completed her general gynaecological training in North West London and further training in sexual and reproductive health at The Royal Free Hospital, London.

Her special interest is Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the lower genital tract. She is a BSCCP accredited colposcopist and accredited trainer and currently the cervical screening provider lead for Homerton Hospital.  She is also the Gynaecology lead for the Homerton Anogenital Neoplasia Service where she manages women with a variety of HPV related conditions affecting the vagina, vulva and anal canal. Miss Bowring provides all methods of contraception and sexual health screening, including the fitting of intrauterine devices and subdermal implants.

Julie loves running in her spare time and spending time with family and her 2 young children.

To book an appointment with Miss Bowring, please call us on 0207 10 11 700.

All About Cystitis

Consultant Gynaecologist Narendra Pisal talks about bladder infection (cystitis), a condition that is very common amongst women.

Bladder infection (cystitis) is very common in women for a number of reasons. The urethra, the tube between the bladder and outside, is quite short (4cm) in women and with proximity to vaginal discharge and secretions with its bacteria, infection can easily enter the bladder.

Cystitis can cause a lot of symptoms such as pain, urinary frequency, burning, blood stained urine, pain during intercourse and temperature. Usually it is quite an easy problem to solve with a course of antibiotics. But using the right antibiotics is very important as ineffective antibiotics can delay the recovery and lead to resistant or recurrent infection. If not treated appropriately, the infection can also spread to the kidneys and may need hospitalisation and intravenous medication. In order to prescribe the right medication, it is necessary to send a sample of urine to the microbiology lab for microscopy, culture and antibiotic sensitivity testing. Guesswork regarding antibiotics is not a good idea. My microbiologist says, “If you shoot in the dark, you will need many bullets”.

Recurrent bladder infection is a problem that affects a lot of women too. Persistent or recurrent symptoms can lead to anxiety and poor sleep. Persistent and urgent need to urinate can make some women so anxious of getting to the toilet in time that they avoid going out or attending meetings. It can lead to chronic pelvic pain, aversion to sex (as sex can often be a trigger) and can affect personality and performance. I have seen high flying career women debilitated by this seemingly simple condition.

If you are worried about cystitis, please see your GP or ring us on 0207 10 11 700 to book an appointment.

The HRT Shortage

Many commonly prescribed forms of HRT are out of stock in pharmacies, due to what the Department for Health and Social Care has referred to as ‘ongoing supply issues’ caused by ‘manufacturing delays’. Consultant Gynaecologist Narendra Pisal would like to reassure women who are worried about the effect this will have on them: 

‘Even though many of the hormone replacement therapy preparations are becoming less available, alternative options are still available. There are three main forms of taking HRT: tablets, patches and gel. All these forms are interchangeable and you should see your GP or your specialist so that you can have a appropriate replacement that is more readily available.

Speaking for the pharmaceutical companies, the shortage is likely to be short-term and hopefully all these preparations will be available freely in the near future.’

If you have any questions or would like to see a consultant regarding HRT, please contact us on 0207 10 11 700.

Kyleena Coil Now Available

The Kyleena coil is now available in clinic!

With the availability of Kyleena, women can choose from 3 hormonal IUDs at London Gynaecology; Mirena, Jaydess and Kyleena

Kyleena provides effective contraception for 5 years and is a smaller IUD, so much easier to introduce making it an ideal choice for young women (similar to Jaydess which lasts for 3 years). Like Mirena and Jaydess, Kyleena also makes periods lighter and less painful with a 15% chance of no periods at all.

For more information on our coil fitting package, click here.

If you would like to find out more, please ring us on 0207 10 11 700.

Q&A With A Gynaecologist

Consultant Gynaecologist Narendra Pisal answers your questions on periods, PCOS and abnormal smears in Pick Me Up! Read the article here.

Marina Wheeler QC Speaks About Her Cervical Cancer Diagnosis

After being diagnosed with cervical cancer earlier this year, a newly cancer-free Marina Wheeler QC is urging women to make time for cervical screening.

Consultant Gynaecologist Narendra Pisal says:

‘It is really great that we have public figures like Ms Wheeler coming forward with their stories of cervical cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment. This will raise awareness of how important a smear test is. 5 minutes of having a smear test can indeed save your life, as in this case.

A smear test is a screening test for precancerous cervical abnormalities and can rarely detect early cancer too. It is currently offered every 3 years between the ages of 25 and 49, and every 5 years between 50 and 65. The smear has recently become even more accurate, with HPV testing being used as a primary screening test. This test is more reliable as it is a lab test and is less likely to be falsely negative like the smear test. Once the HPV test has been done, a smear test then can be performed if the HPV test is abnormal. HPV negative result is very reassuring and almost guarantees absence of any disease.

We would encourage all women to go for their cervical screening as recommended by their GPs. Please visit our website for further information as well as cervical screening.’

Feminine Hygiene Products: Yes Or No?

Feminine hygiene products are expensive and washing the outside of the vagina with water is enough cleansing. In this article for Glamour, Consultant Gynaecologist Pradnya Pisal explains why buying them is just not worth it.

Consultant Gynaecologist Saurabh Phadnis Joins The Team

We are delighted to announce that Mr Saurabh Phadnis is joining the London Gynaecology team. 

Mr Phadnis is a Consultant Gynaecologist at The Royal London Hospital (Bartshealth NHS Trust), London. He completed his general gynaecology training in busy hospitals in the East of England and his subspecialty training in gynaecological oncology at Barts Gynaecological Cancer Centre.

His research included investigations into association of pregnancy related complications following treatment of precancer of cervix. He has won several prizes in national and international conferences. He was awarded the RCOG-Bernhard Baron Travelling fellowship to visit centre of excellence in Germany to expand his expertise in ovarian cancer surgery.

He is an expert in complex minimally invasive and open abdominal surgery. His particular interests include fertility preservation in gynaecological cancer, counselling and management of familial gynaecological cancer and advanced stage ovarian cancer cytoreduction surgery. He is an experienced hysteroscopic surgeon. He has more than 10 years of experience as a colposcopist and is an accredited trainer with the BSCCP.

Mr Phadnis believes in holistic and individualised approach to patient care.

If you would like to book an appointment with Mr Phadnis, please call 0207 10 11 700 or email [email protected].

HPV Vaccination To Be Offered To Boys

We were delighted to hear the news yesterday that, after this summer, the HPV vaccine will be offered to 12-13 year old boys as well as girls. Health officials say that this will prevent 29,000 cancers – of the anus, penis, head and neck – in UK men in the next 40 years.

Consultant Gynaecologist Narendra Pisal says,

“Human papillomavirus affects both boys and girls. Currently 80% of men and women get HPV at some stage of their life.

Vaccination for boys as well as girls will mean that the incidence of HPV infection will fall to a very low level. Vaccinating both will also lead to herd immunity providing additional benefit to the population by reducing transmission rates.

HPV is the second common cause of cancers after smoking and eradicating HPV will lead to a huge reduction in cancer numbers in both sexes including throat cancers, anal cancers and cervical and vaginal cancers. This is great news for men and also women who will also benefit from this. Human papillomavirus, we are coming for you…”