Yananiso: Capacity building services for women and youth

"I'll go when I have time."

"It's probably nothing."

"I'm just tired."

"Let me finish this first."

Sound familiar?

How many times have we said these things to ourselves? Perhaps we've had a nagging pain for weeks, noticed something unusual about our bodies, or simply felt exhausted for longer than we can remember. But instead of finding out what's wrong, we convince ourselves that it can wait. After all, there's work to be done, children to look after, bills to pay, meals to prepare and a never-ending list of things demanding our attention. Somehow, our health keeps finding its way to the bottom of that list.

It's interesting how quickly we respond when something goes wrong with the people or things we care about. If our child isn't feeling well, we make arrangements to get them medical attention. If the car starts making a strange noise, we want to know what's wrong before it becomes an expensive problem. If something goes wrong at work, we do our best to sort it out before it gets worse. But when our own bodies try to tell us something, we often respond with, "I'll deal with it later." And sometimes, later becomes weeks. Weeks become months. And eventually, we become so accustomed to feeling a certain way that we begin to think it's normal.

Not every ache, pain or unusual symptom is a sign of something serious. Our bodies change as we grow older, and many symptoms have perfectly ordinary explanations. However, there are some changes worth paying attention to. 

• Persistent pain you've been managing with painkillers, hoping it will eventually disappear.
• Unusual bleeding, particularly between periods, after sex or after menopause, that you've dismissed as hormonal changes.
• Persistent bloating that you keep blaming on something you ate, even though it keeps happening.
• Unexplained weight loss or gain that doesn't seem connected to changes in your eating habits or activity levels.
• A cough that won't go away, which you've been treating with one remedy after another.
• Changes in your bowel or bladder habits that are new, persistent or difficult to explain.
• A change in your breasts, such as a lump, swelling, nipple discharge or a change in appearance, that you're hoping will go away on its own.
• Constant tiredness that doesn't seem to improve even after you've rested.
• How often do we dismiss exhaustion as simply part of being a woman, a mother, an employee or someone with too many responsibilities?

The truth is, these symptoms can have many causes, and most do not automatically mean cancer or another serious illness. When something is new, persistent, unexplained or unusual for you, it's worth discussing with a healthcare professional.

If we're being fair to ourselves, sometimes the reason we postpone medical appointments has very little to do with our schedules. Sometimes we're afraid of what the doctor may say, the cost of treatment or discovering something that could change our lives. We may simply not have the money, transport or time away from work to get the medical attention we need. These are real challenges, particularly when we're already trying to stretch limited resources to meet our families' needs. However, avoiding a problem doesn't necessarily make it disappear.

While we cannot control every health outcome, seeking professional advice gives us a better opportunity to understand what's happening and what options are available. Taking care of yourself doesn't mean you care any less about the people who depend on you. It means recognising that your wellbeing matters too.

You are not selfish for taking care of yourself.