GyFest – The Lagos awareness event for gynaecological cancers

On Saturday, October 31, 2015, a few friends gathered at Tots n Cots Pre-School in Gbagada, Lagos for the first outing of a gynaecological cancer awareness and consciousness project called GyFest.

Initiated by Ruby Agu, GyFest aims to give women a platform to gain information, share experiences, and inspire healthier lifestyles that will ultimately help prevent the incidence of gynaecological cancers and lead to a longer and a better quality life.

Cancer has become the biggest killers in the world today, and the incidence in Africa is growing astronomically. Cancers that start in a woman’s reproductive system are called gynaecological cancers, and sadly, they are hardly known or easily identified. They include:

• Womb (also known as cancer of the uterus, endometrial cancer, or uterine cancer)
• Ovarian
• Cervical
• Vulval
• Vaginal

Because of the sensitive nature of discussing the female reproductive organs, especially in African cultures, nobody wants to talk about these diseases. Ruby Agu (who, by the way, narrowly escaped endometrial cancer) started GyFest so that this conversation may begin.

Gynaecological cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in women, affecting approximately 1 in 20 women worldwide. Virtually every woman is affected by a gynaecological condition or infection at some time during her life, so there is a need to get people to adopt lifestyles and practices that can help with prevention or at least early detection.

We eagerly look forward to the next GyFest, which, we’re positive, will be a lot bigger, have a wider reach, and change even more lives. This is just the beginning.