Veronique talks about her experience with vulvar cancer

 

World Gynecologic Oncology Day would like to thank Esperanza, our Belgian patient organization, for recording and subtitling this video.

 

Veronique lives in Belgium and was diagnosed with vulva cancer. In this video, she provides a testimonial of her experience. In her video, Veronique shares an intimate confession of her journey from the diagnosis, the initial shock, the process of surgery, and healing. She is very open about her frustrations and confusions right after surgery, and shares specific tips that helped her heal physically and also emotionally.

 

Veronique talks about the importance of a support system in her family, friends, and patient organization in local countries. She talks about how valuable contact with other women who have gone through similar experiences was to her, and how she feels that she wants to spread her expertise to others now to help other women going through similar experiences with this journey.

Vulvar cancer affecting an intimate part of a woman's body is often a subject of shame and may be connected to societal stigmas. We would like to lift the burden of stigma in gynecologic cancers, in this video specifically of vulvar cancer, so that women can talk openly about their symptoms, about their problems, and also about the process of healing.

 

The most important message of the video is the importance of early diagnosis and not ignoring the symptoms of possible vulva cancer. It is important to inspect your vulva regularly for any signs of discoloring, pain, bleeding, or itching and consult your gynecologist as soon as you can. Veronique states in her video that early detection due to her regular gynaecologic check-ups helped her get the diagnosis very early on which did not let the cancer spread from her vulva to her lymph system. Early diagnosis is key to cure and prevention of cancer from spreading to the whole body.

 

Please listen to the full video of Veronique on the World Gynecologic Oncology Day YouTube. Please comment, share, and like our video so it gets spread to a wider population of women who may need it.