13
May
Jade’s Legacy: The Death of a Reality TV Star Highlights the Dangers of Cervical Cancer
by Carrie Barclay
0 Comments | Posted by thatgirl in 21st Century Bellist, Making Waves, Take Care
“Rio de Janeiro – ain’t that a person?” –Jade Goody
Love her, hate her or never-even-heard-of-her, it’s impossible not to appreciate the epic effect Jade Goody’s incredibly public struggle with cervical cancer has had on women around the world, but most prevalently in the UK.
Jade shot to fame in 2002 when she appeared on Big Brother in the UK. Her popularity was concreted by her “loveable bimbo” persona, and hilarious lack of general knowledge.
Her career after Big Brother was nothing if not controversial, featuring television appearances, a fragrance line and biographies. In 2006, Jade was voted the 25th most influential person in the world by British celebrity magazine, HEAT.
Alongside all this success erupted an ill-advised appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, which was tainted by accusations of racism against Bollywood star, Shilpa Shetty, and causing an international controversy. These controversies led to a huge publicity drive, orchestrated by Jade’s media people, and culminated in an appearance on Big Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother. It was during this appearance that Jade was told that she had cervical cancer, following a routine test in the UK.
Jade’s battle and subsequent death in March of this year has inspired women all around the UK to get tested. In a move dubbed “Jade’s Legacy,” a campaign has been launched to encourage the UK Government to reduce the age of initial screening for cervical cancer from 25 to 20.
Of course, an intimate examination of this kind is never going to be the highlight of your day, but it is carried out by a health care professional, and they are well versed in ways to make you feel as comfortable as possible.
Research has suggested that there are a number of risk factors associated with cervical cancer, which all women should be aware of. (Check out
www.cancerresearchuk.org or www.cancerresearch.org for more details.)
It has been claimed that the introduction of Pap testing has reduced the numbers of deaths from cervical cancer by as much as 50%, so a few moments of embarrassment really are a small price to pay for your life.