How many women does it take to change the world?

This might seem like a strange question to ask on a website about hysterectomy but, in fact, it’s highly appropriate. When I founded the Hysterectomy Association over 18 years ago the biggest complaint that most women had about their experience was the lack of information to help them make an ‘informed choice’ about their health and their bodies.

It is a sad, but true, fact that this complaint is STILL the most common one made by women. In the original research I talked about the NHS here in the UK and their commitment through what is called ‘The Patient’s Charter’, to ensure that everyone could give truly informed consent to the treatments that are offered by their medical practitioners.

However, in practice this rarely happens. Medical practitioners don’t have the time to ensure that we have the information we need in order to make those decisions. And yet, knowing that the one we eventually take is the right one for us – not for someone else, but for us as an individual – is absolutely paramount and has been shown to have a tangible impact on how well we recover and cope with whatever treatment we eventually decide upon.

Compounding this problem is the apparent divide that still exists that prevents many of us asking questions of those we perceive to be an ‘expert’. In other words, too many women still feel that they don’t want to appear stupid or silly or concerned when their medical advisor’s are offering a particular course of treatment or surgical intervention.

If there were one thing I would wish for all women undergoing a hysterectomy, it would be that they had enough information at the outset to ask the right questions that ensure the decision they make about their health is the right one for them, specifically.

My aim has always been to challenge these views, to ensure that women have that information and are confident enough to ask the questions they need to. The problem is that too many women find us after the fact – they have already had their surgery and are now trying to shoehorn the information they get into their post operative experience.

So, I’d like to repeat that question – how many women will it take to change the world?

You can answer the question here, by leaving a comment below and between us we will, and can, change the world.