Parenta Magazine January 2020
Welcome to the January edition of the Parenta magazine! January is the month when many of us reflect on the year behind us and endeavour to make (and stick to!) resolutions for the year ahead, both personally and professionally. If you are one of the many who are starting the new year with high hopes of becoming more sustainable, we’ve got some useful ideas to help you reduce the use of plastic in your setting, together with some fun activities to educate the children about the importance of recycling. In the aftermath of the festive season, it’s important to remember to look after ourselves and our teams, both physically and mentally. Following on from an earlier article on how to improve the wellbeing of your staff, we take a look at this topical subject from Ofsted’s perspective, according to its recently-introduced Education Inspection Framework. We hope you enjoy this edition of our magazine and would like to wish all our readers a happy New Year and we hope that 2020 brings you happiness and success.
Welcome to the January edition of the Parenta magazine!
January is the month when many of us reflect on the year behind us and endeavour to make (and stick to!) resolutions for the year ahead, both personally and professionally.
If you are one of the many who are starting the new year with high hopes of becoming more sustainable, we’ve got some useful ideas to help you reduce the use of plastic in your setting, together with some fun activities to educate the children about the importance of recycling.
In the aftermath of the festive season, it’s important to remember to look after ourselves and our teams, both physically and mentally. Following on from an earlier article on how to improve the wellbeing of your staff, we take a look at this topical subject from Ofsted’s perspective, according to its recently-introduced Education Inspection Framework.
We hope you enjoy this edition of our magazine and would like to wish all our readers a happy New Year and we hope that 2020 brings you happiness and success.
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Cervical Cancer Prevention Week<br />
Cervical Cancer<br />
Prevention Week<br />
Cervical cancer is not something that many people talk about, yet around 3,200<br />
women (9 people per day) are diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year 1 . Whilst<br />
incidence rates have been falling since the early 1990s, in the last decade, rates have<br />
increased again by around 4%, especially in the 25–29-years age group. Sixty-three<br />
percent of those diagnosed will survive for 10 years or more, but there are still 852<br />
deaths per year and since 99.8% of cervical cancers are preventable, many women are<br />
dying unnecessarily 1 .<br />
<strong>January</strong> 20th to 26th is Cervical Cancer<br />
Prevention Week, when leading cancer<br />
and healthcare charities come together<br />
to raise awareness of the disease and<br />
how people can reduce their risk. This<br />
means:<br />
• Encouraging people to attend<br />
cervical screening sessions when<br />
invited<br />
• Disseminating information about<br />
the symptoms of cervical cancer<br />
and when to get help<br />
Cervix<br />
Fallopian tube<br />
Ovary<br />
Womb<br />
Age<br />
When you’re invited<br />
Under 25 Up to 6 months before you turn 25<br />
25 to 49 Once every 3 years<br />
50 to 64 Once every 5 years<br />
Over 64<br />
25 and 64 should be invited into<br />
the programme by letter. The time<br />
between screenings will depend on<br />
age and any previous abnormal tests.<br />
A ‘smear test’ takes about 10 minutes<br />
and involves taking a small sample<br />
of cells from the cervix which are<br />
then tested to see if there have<br />
been changes. Results are usually<br />
received within 2 weeks, by letter. If<br />
abnormal changes are found, then<br />
further investigation and monitoring<br />
will be undertaken to help prevent<br />
any changes developing into cervical<br />
cancer.<br />
Only if one of your last 3 tests was abnormal<br />
occur for many reasons so you should<br />
visit your GP early if you experience<br />
this abnormally. Other symptoms<br />
include pain or discomfort during sex,<br />
an unpleasant vaginal discharge or a<br />
pain in your lower back or pelvis.<br />
If the cancer spreads to other<br />
organs or tissues, then more severe<br />
symptoms can be experienced<br />
including constipation, weeing or<br />
pooing more than normal, severe<br />
pain, incontinence, blood in your<br />
urine or severe vaginal bleeding. You<br />
should see your GP immediately if you<br />
experience these symptoms.<br />
people miss the first dose, they can still<br />
have the first vaccine up to their 25th<br />
birthday. Importantly, this is now being<br />
offered to boys as well as girls.<br />
How to get involved<br />
There are many ways to get involved<br />
and nurseries are well-poised to raise<br />
awareness in the target audience.<br />
Initiatives should be aimed at the health<br />
of your staff and parents rather than<br />
children, so why not?:<br />
• Hold an awareness event<br />
• Wear pink for the day and share<br />
your reasons<br />
• Fundraise for a cancer charity<br />
• Promote the importance of<br />
attending a smear test<br />
• Hold a drop-in session for parents<br />
to get some information or advice<br />
• Use your social media to spread<br />
the word of what you are doing<br />
and why<br />
• Allow staff time off to attend<br />
cervical screening<br />
• Encouraging the take up of HPV<br />
vaccinations for 11–18-year-olds<br />
• Promoting sites where people can<br />
find help and support<br />
Nurseries and pre-schools are<br />
ideally placed to spread the word to<br />
those who could potentially be most<br />
affected, and to help save lives, due<br />
to the predominantly female workforce<br />
and regular contacts with young<br />
women.<br />
What is cervical cancer and<br />
what causes it?<br />
The cervix (neck of the womb) is part<br />
of the female reproductive system and<br />
is the lower entrance of the womb,<br />
leading to/from the vagina. The cervix<br />
is a strong muscle that allows the flow<br />
of menstrual blood from the uterus into<br />
the vagina, and during intercourse,<br />
directs sperms into the uterus.<br />
Normally, the entrance is very narrow,<br />
but during labour, it dilates to allow for<br />
birth.<br />
The cervix has several layers, and the<br />
Vagina<br />
Transformation zone<br />
showing position of<br />
abnormal cells<br />
Cervix<br />
Vagina<br />
area most likely to become cancerous<br />
(the area around the opening) is<br />
known as the transformation zone.<br />
The main cause of cervical cancer is<br />
a persistent infection of the human<br />
papilloma virus, known as HPV, which<br />
is a common virus, usually cleared by<br />
the immune system. In some cases,<br />
the virus causes changes to the<br />
cells in the cervix which can become<br />
cancerous if left untreated.<br />
Who is most at risk?<br />
Younger women, especially those in<br />
their 20s, are most at risk although<br />
trans men can also develop it if they<br />
haven’t had a total hysterectomy.<br />
What is cervical screening?<br />
(smear test)<br />
The National Health Service Cervical<br />
Screening Programme (NHSCSP) was<br />
introduced in the 1980s. All women and<br />
people with a cervix, aged between<br />
Why are women still not being<br />
diagnosed?<br />
One of the main reasons women<br />
often give as to why they have not<br />
had a smear test, is that they are<br />
too busy with their work and their<br />
family to make time; they often put<br />
everyone else’s needs ahead of their<br />
own. Smear tests do not take long<br />
but delaying one may impact on your<br />
ability to receive early investigation<br />
and/or treatments, and in some cases,<br />
it may be too late. Research by cancer<br />
charities has also shown that women<br />
do not understand the symptoms of<br />
cervical cancer and many find the<br />
process embarrassing.<br />
What are the symptoms?<br />
Symptoms are not always obvious and<br />
there may be no symptoms until the<br />
advanced stages, which is why it is<br />
important to take part in the screening<br />
programme.<br />
The first symptom is usually abnormal<br />
vaginal bleeding, especially during or<br />
after sex, between periods or after<br />
the menopause. Vaginal bleeding can<br />
Vaccination<br />
There are currently are 3 licensed HPV<br />
vaccines in the UK that protect against<br />
HPV. They are Gardasil, Cervarix and<br />
Gardasil 9. According to the NHS<br />
website:<br />
“From September 2019, all 12- and<br />
13-year-olds in school year 8 will<br />
be offered on the NHS the human<br />
papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. It helps<br />
protect against cancers caused by HPV,<br />
including:<br />
• cervical cancer<br />
• some mouth and throat (head and<br />
neck) cancers<br />
• some cancers of the anal and<br />
genital areas<br />
• It also helps protect against genital<br />
warts.”<br />
A second dose is normally offered 6<br />
to 12 months after the first (in school<br />
year 8 or year 9) and it is important<br />
to have both doses to be protected. If<br />
• Join the #SmearForSmear<br />
campaign run by Jo’s Trust charity<br />
to help get rid of the myths around<br />
smear tests.<br />
Useful information<br />
• Government cervical cancer<br />
screening leaflet<br />
• Cancer research NHS cervical<br />
cancer site<br />
• Jo’s trust cervical cancer charity<br />
includes a helpline: 0808 802 8000<br />
References<br />
• www.cancerresearchuk.org<br />
10 <strong>January</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | parenta.com<br />
parenta.com | <strong>January</strong> <strong>2020</strong> 11
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