There has been a considerable fall in doctor visits for potential cancer symptoms, plus other serious illnesses during the pandemic. Fear of attending hospital during Covid is understandable, in fact even I resisted going until long after I should have done during lockdown. However Covid-safe measures are in place in medical establishments and there’s a real risk that a treatable cancer could become incurable just through delay, so please, please see your doctor if you’re worried.

September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month and Intimina, makers of women’s health products, have asked Dr Shree Datta, consultant at Kings College Hospital, London, to answer commonly asked questions about gynaecological cancers, and Frost is keen to share her answers:

Dr Datta’s Advice:                                 

The main women’s health cancers affect cervix, womb and ovaries. Your overall risk of developing cancer increases with age, but menopause alone doesn’t cause cancer and young women can be affected too. 

How can I minimise the risk of gynaecological cancer?

1. Whilst you cannot change some risk factors (eg family history or genetics), smoking or being overweight can affect risk of gynaecological cancers, so it’s important to watch your diet and exercise regularly. This can also strengthen your immune system. 
2. If womb, ovarian, cervical or breast cancer is prominent in your family, speak to your doctor. 
3. Keep a diary of abnormal symptoms such as heavy periods or bleeding between periods and make sure you attend your smear tests. Cervical smears and mammography help detect whether there is cancer and find it early. Bring a friend if needed, or take some pain relief beforehand. 
4. Safe sex and the HPV vaccination (if eligible) can protect from high risk HPV types which are commonly associated with cervical cancer. 

What things should I watch out for?

Consult your doctor early for abnormal bleeding (between your periods, after sex or after the menopause) or repeated bouts of abdominal pain.  Also for unexplained bloating, a change in appetite or bowel habits or if you are losing weight without trying.

If symptoms persist or get worse go back to your doctor. We may explore things with an ultrasound or blood test.

Further tips from Dr Datta?

Self examine your breasts regularly and attend your mammography, as well as smear tests, as some gynaecological cancers can also occur if you have breast changes or breast cancer. 

Speaking to your doctor early may mean that if you have cancer, it’s diagnosed early and may be curable. Don’t wait until your next smear test if you find symptoms in between tests, speak to your doctor.

It’s great to hear this advice from an expert such as Dr Datta and if you need more information or want to speak with her, you can contact Intimina@cowpr.com

Many thanks to Intimina for providing this important resource. For more advice and resources please visit Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month – Foundation for Women’s Cancer

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

As a doctor you may expect me to dismiss claims for the vibrational energy of plants.

Not so. I was privileged, when first qualified, to work for the late Dr Alec Forbes, a highly regarded NHS physician, excelling in conventional medicine. This extremely compassionate man was conscious that modern medicine, whilst improving so many lives, was not a ‘cure all’. Conditions persisted where conventional medicine was an imperfect solution. His concern drove him to explore numerous complementary medical approaches and he went on to play a key founding role in the Bristol Cancer Help Centre, now Penny Brohn UK.

Amongst the alternative treatments, which Dr Forbes used, side-by-side with conventional therapy, were Bach flower remedies – developed in the 1920s. Bach diluted selected flower essences with water and a little brandy and, dependent on the combination of essences, claimed to help many states of mind, including anxiety, despair and anger.

Thus I was interested to discover Saskia’s Flower Essences – which follow similar principles to Bach remedies, and yet are definitely different.

Saskia Marjoram (yes that’s really her name) has lived and worked with flowers all her life – having been a gardener, and later a florist to Prince Charles, so maybe it’s no surprise that she ‘feels’ the energy of flowers and knows how to use this to help others.

From the start, I was struck by the presentation of my sample essence, Breath Deep, Seek Peace. A hand-written card from Saskia herself explained the product. The beautiful apothecary-style bottle was hand-wrapped in tissue and there was an excellent accompanying guide, explaining the different flower essences.

I felt cared for, even before using the essence. I’ve tried Bach Remedies in the past, but what struck me about the Saskia Essence was the stronger taste – perhaps Saskia uses more flower essence? I’m not sure, but it was pleasing.

Was it psychological? I don’t know, but I felt a swell of hope, calm and happiness and this feeling persisted for some time. It’s main purpose is for sleeping, but the ‘winding down, letting go’ subtitle is relevant to many of us during this crazy Covid-2020, perhaps not just at bedtime.

Strength and Support (featured) offers help for dark thoughts and hopelessness. There are combinations designed for confidence, emotional relief and focus, for shock and – so important for us all, Sexy and Gorgeous – for self-love.

There are spray formulations too, and for those who require alcohol-free essences – the organic vodka component can be replaced with cider vinegar.

You can see the full range on Saskia’s website. A boxed set of 8 key combination essences (£64) is a fantastic gift for someone special (including yourself).

If you wish, you can choose your own combinations too, using Saskia’s helpful guide.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

Rosebud Preserves has shared with Frost Magazine that   its NEW season Gooseberry & Elderflower jam is now available to buy  from fine food retailers and online at www.rosebudpreserves.co.uk.  Hooray!

Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam (£3.95/227g)

Gooseberries 66%, unrefined sugar, water, fresh elderflowers 2%. Prepared with 66g of fruit per 100g. Total sugar content 60g per 100g.

The perfect seasonal pairing of sharp summer gooseberries with the muscat scent of wild elderflower. Naturally set with unrefined sugar goes the blurb, and honestly, the jam lives up to all of this, and I have also tried  the strawberry jam. Lucky me… Scones for tea again this week. Perfection.

Using fresh, local or foraged ingredients is very important to Elspeth Biltoft, founder of the company.  For the Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam that means at the end of May/beginning of June you will find Elspeth foraging in the North Yorkshire countryside for fresh elderflowers with members of the Rosebud Preserves team.

Elspeth says: “Every year we check local hedges for abundant quantities of fresh creamy white flowers. They must be picked when the day is warm, dry and sunny. It is more a pleasure than a chore and we work as a very efficient team. When we return to the farm we chill the blossoms and when we’re ready, make a simple Muscat flavoured liquor with them to add to the gooseberries, to make the jam.”

Elspeth continues: “Gooseberry & Elderflower is perhaps the most special of our jams and has won more awards for us, over the years, than any other product. The ingredient list is deceptively simple – sharp Gooseberries, just enough unrefined sugar and generous quantities of freshly picked Elderflowers. The soft natural set retains a sweet/sharp fruity flavour, replete with the heady scent of Muscat.”

Now, if you are planning on foraging for elderflower yourself, it will have to be next year, but make a note of these tips that Elspeth has given us:

Whilst gathering take care not to damage the Elder bushes, they have fragile stems, or surrounding habitat by trampling over it.

Spread yourself around, picking a little here, then there, rather than stripping the  bush. After all, flowers develop into berries and provide food for birds.

Get permission to pick on private land.

And best to pick away from traffic fumes.

How did I not know that Rosebud Preserves has been making its jams, marmalades, chutneys and jellies at Masham, North Yorkshire, since 1989? Living a stones throw away in Thirsk I should have done. My excuse is that I only left London environs two years ago.

The company was started by Elspeth Biltoft and her founding principles, to source local produce whenever possible; to cook traditional recipes; and practice time honoured techniques, without the use of additives, preservatives or pectin; remain the same today.

 All prices quoted do not include postage and packing.

As well as selling direct, the products can also be bought from fine food retailers, such as Whole Foods Market, Neal’s Yard Dairy, Castle Howard Estate and are served with afternoon tea at Cowarth Park, Ascot, Berkshire.  The company also exports its products – since 1992 it has been exporting to the United States of America.

www.rosebudpreserves.co.uk.

Rosebud Farm, Healey, Masham, North Yorkshire, HG4 4LH

Annie Clarke is the author of the Home Front series pub. Arrow.   

– News Flash: Due to a huge demand, the highly-acclaimed digital revival of Martin Sherman’s Rose, starring Maureen Lipman (Coronation Street) will be extending its run for two weeks, from now until Saturday 26^th .  Initially billed as a three-day event, the production has seen an overwhelming response since its launch, lauding praise for Lipman’s ‘tour de force’ performance in this powerful one-woman drama-

“This is what writing, acting and theatre is all about

Paul says: When there is a lot of one kind of artform proliferating, there is usually a moment when the best few rise to the surface. Rose is a case in point. We are surrounded by actors doing monologues, whether from theatres or studios or their homes. Most are, sadly, worthy but forgettable. Not Rose. Rose is unforgettable.

Maureen Lipman plays the eponymous lady in this full two-hour theatrical presentation, courtesy of the excellent Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. We see shots of her talking to no one as the seats are empty, she is alone in the space. The poignancy hits home. As do her words – a sublime Martin Sherman script that pulls on the heartstrings as much as tickles the funny bone. And this is where Maureen Lipman shines.

The story and setting are simplistic – but deep in metaphor. Rose sits on a bench, talking to herself – or is it to you? – or is it to everyone? She recounts her life with a clarity that allows you to journey with her through some of the traumas of the twentieth-century. But don’t just assume it’s two hours of heartache – the one-liners and running gags are to die for!

The production is supporting three causes: Age UK, The Fed, and UK Jewish Film.

Available only for a few days online (now two weeks)  – this is one of those quality pieces not to be missed. This is what writing, acting and theatre is all about.

Photography Channel Eighty8

Poster Art Jay Brooks

Producers Ginger Quiff Media and Hope Mill Theatre

Writer Martin Sherman

Director Scott Le Crass

Music David Cullen

Running Time over 2 hours

Tickets www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk

Price £8 (plus booking fee)

Twitter @Gingerqmedia, @Hopemilltheatr1

Instagram @Gingerquiffmedia, @HopeMillTheatre

Nine year old Frankie Appleton likes to count gates.

One day, she hopes to design the perfect gate – a gate to keep the bad things out.

Little does she know that the bad things have already got in.

Thus reads the back blurb on The Weight of Small Things. The art of writing this blurb really needs to be more widely lauded. Here we have the very essence of the book – a small child, possibly a little unusual, possibly a little obsessive, who is clearly in a dangerous situation. We have the pull on the heartstrings for the child and the intrigue of what the ‘bad things’ are. And what will happen?

When we first meet Frankie she is indeed counting gates though swish of windscreen wipers  in a friend’s car. Apart from her readerships of Designing Gates magazine, all seems normal until she gets home and finds a mug with the smell of whisky and wonders whether her mother is ‘entertaining’. But her mother is dead and the police think it is suicide. Frankie thinks it is murder and, from her new home in her Grandmother’s high rise flat, sets out to prove it.

In 1979, Peggy, Frankie’s mother, is a young woman who is determined to escape her past. But meeting Ed at a Bob Dylan concert leads to domesticity and then a death and personal destruction.

This is a first time book by author Julie Lancaster, who manages to ably pull us into the mind of a bright nine year old who’s already not-very-satisfactory life is broken up by an act of violence and her quest to solve a murder, and the disturbed head of a woman whose life falls apart. I felt there were slightly too many narrators, especially as Frankie is by far the most engaging character and the one you want to stay with, but overall an excellent debut.

Mirror Books

£8.99

IBSN 9781913406189

Making the world a better place was Sarah Kauss’s aim when she started S’well in 2010, with a goal to rid the world of single-use plastic bottles.

So far she’s over 4 billion single-use plastic water bottles closer to that goal, so well done Sarah.

But it doesn’t stop there – S’well have committed $1.7 million to UNICEF and made a recent donation of $1 million worth of products to healthcare heroes.

So what’s so special about S’well Bottles? Well, like a normal thermos, they keep hot drinks hot, and cold drinks cold – but they do it so much better. Due to their triple-layered, vacuum-insulated construction, cold drinks stay cold for up to 24 hours and hot ones hot for up to 12 hours. They’re made from stainless steel with a copper wall layer, to prevent condensation and are light and sleek, and of course unbreakable.

There’s an enormous range of patterns and colours to reflect your personality or mood – and prevent anyone ‘accidently’ pinching yours. The wide neck is especially designed to be large enough for ice cubes and they come in three sizes – the 250ml small enough for your handbag; the 500ml normal gym water bottle and the 750ml one, which conveniently holds the contents of a full bottle of wine. So you can keep your sauvignon blanc chilled, and your amarone at room temperature – whatever your guilty secret (although please don’t use your gym bottle for a crafty tipple on the cross-trainer – stick to water whilst you’re working out).

But S’well have expanded to many other products too – using the same super technology. So you can keep your snacks hot, or cold; or use their different shaped bottles for carrying your commuter-coffee; there are beautiful bowls, to keep salads cool or soups hot, and their barware range has the most lovely wine chillers and gorgeous champagne flutes.

You can see the full range at the S’well website.

Hydration is so important and such attractive bottles all help to ensure we drink regularly. I absolutely love my satin hunting green bottle.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

I stumbled across the Blurt Foundations one day whilst scrolling through Facebook and what caught my eye was their ‘Buddy Boxes’ where I could chose items to be put into this buddy box and I could either keep it for myself or send it to someone who is in need of an emotional  pick me up. The Blurt foundation kindly sent me a box so I could have a look at what they put inside  and how this would help ease the strain of depression and anxiety.

I suffer with both of the awful mental health problems and was eager to see how the buddy box could help.

My buddy box arrived super quick and was packaged appealingly.  Inside I had: a crochet kit, a thankfulness log, some vegan dark chocolate, organic lip balm and a card.

That afternoon (and after a rather stressful morning) I thought I would attempt the crochet chicken kit and i was pleasantly surprised to find it therapeutic , it turned out horrendously due to my poor skills but I felt so much calmer for completing it. Then there was the chocolate and anyone who knows me knows how much of a chocoholic I am so I naturally enjoyed it and the fact that it was vegan friendly is a bonus. The lip balm is lavender and bergamot scented and is beautiful and I use it daily now. My favourite item has to be the thankfulness log where I can write down: how I’m feeling, what I am thankful for , something that made me smile along with a few things that I would like to remember about my day. I keep this on my bedside table ready to fill out.

So on reflection I would highly recommend the Buddy Boxes from The Blurt Foundation, but not just for the amazing and unique items but for what the blurt foundation stands for.

“While depression is a common condition, there are a lot of misconceptions about it. At Blurt we work hard to increase understanding of depression, from the perspective of those who’ve actually experienced it.

We blog about living with, managing, and supporting others with depression in a friendly, accessible way. Our resources explain key issues clearly – we don’t believe in complicating things unnecessarily. Plus everything we do comes with a heavy dollop of empathy.”

https://www.blurtitout.org/buddybox

I was absolutely delighted with the bonnet and discovered it  was made by Barb, of I Love to Crochet by Barb. It arrived in a superior blue bag, appropriate for a grandson  and that attention to detail is typical,  I have come to discover, of Barb – designer and crocheter (if there is such a word). Because of course, I had to go to the source and find out more about this lovely product, and what else  Barb makes, and how she originally set up and on… and on…

The answer is Barb makes all sorts, including evening bags so with Christmas coming, and if there are any parties under present circumstances, take a look at these.