in health and fitness
RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER
March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and research charity Ovarian Cancer Action has chosen the theme Speak Up, Listen Up!
pired to get active Be insJen Richardson’s story - Advertising feature -
I
started swimming in public sessions at Ferndown Leisure Centre in July 2013 doing 20 lengths of breaststroke. I was swimming whilst the coached swim fitness was taking place, and I thought I want to swim like that. I spoke to Janet Latham (swim teacher) and had five one to one lessons to learn front crawl. I set myself the goal of being able to swim in coached swim fitness by January 2014. I practised in public sessions and monitored my progress via SWIMTAG, which I found motivating, and managed to swim 30k in December, some in open water. I then went to Tuesday and Thursday coached swim fitness sessions. I completed the Swimathon 1.5k in April 2014 and went on to do the 5k Swimathon a year later. After putting in time and effort and having lessons and training at Ferndown Leisure Centre, I achieved my goals, including the Pier-to-Pier swim in 2014 and 2015. David Ayres, on Thursday night’s coached Swim Fitness session at Ferndown, is helping me with distance training for open water swimming. I joined East Dorset Open Water Swimming Club, Shore Road in 2015 and have just been appointed honorary treasurer.
My goal for 2016 is to complete the 5k Swimathon at Ferndown Leisure on 1819 March, 3.8k Seahorse in July and do the Pier to Pier in a faster time.
Ovarian cancer isn’t as well-known as some other female cancers, yet it is the fifth most common - with more than 7,000 diagnoses in the UK each year. The UK has one of the lowest survival rates in Western Europe, with a woman dying from ovarian cancer every two hours, resulting in 4,300 deaths annually. Ovarian Cancer Action says one of the reasons for the poor survival rate in the UK is that the disease is often spotted too late. The charity recognises that speaking up about your health can be difficult and has developed a symptoms diary to help women record their symptoms and take it to their GP. Search for ‘Ovarian Cancer Action’ in your phone’s app store, or download a paper version at www.ovarian.org.uk
The four main symptoms of ovarian cancer are: • Persistent stomach pain • Persistent bloating or increased stomach size • Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly • Needing to urinate more frequently
To help you become inspired Ferndown Leisure Centre is offering a fantastic three month fitness membership for only £99, or swim membership for only £60 through the month of March. To find out more about the three month membership offer call Ferndown Leisure Centre on 01202 877468 email: enquiries@ ferndownleisurecentre.co.uk or visit www. ferndownleisurecentre.co.uk.
Visit www.mags4dorset.co.uk for more local news
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