Choose To Thrive: Women's Health

Anal cancer is something you may have never thought about and may even make you feel a little uncomfortable. Despite being a relatively rare cancer, up to 25% of those diagnosed lose their lives to this disease which is easily missed or misdiagnosed. Most people are not aware that ~90% of anal cancers are related to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which is the most common STI and which almost all sexually active adults will have at some point in their lives. 

For this episode I am joined by the delightful Mary Jo Murphy, advocate for and survivor of anal cancer. Find about more about her and the work she is involved in via IANS (https://www.iansoc.org). 

This episode I am joined by Taryn Anderson, a colleague of mine in the Women's Health physio world and mother to four young children including triplets. She’s an absolute dynamo of a woman, incredibly smart, passionate with incredible strength and resilience. 

In our discussion we cover topics including:

•  Her experiences of pregnancy and delivering her triplets
• The challenges of those first years as a new mum
• Her journey with pelvic organ prolapse and associated hormonal changes 
• How using a vaginal pessary has changed her outlook on her symptoms, prognosis and ability to exercise at a high level.

If you’ve ever had a baby then this episode is definitely for you!

Taryn is currently working at Physio Inq in Manning, Perth WA and her Instagram handle is fit.triplet.mum 

Enjoy!!

Heard of the pelvic floor but only have a hazy idea of what it is and what it does? This super simple outline of the key facts will increase your understanding of this amazing and super important part of your anatomy. Yay!

What is it? What does it do? What can impact it's function over a lifetime? What can we do about it? I'll cover all this and more.

Oh! And for this episode I'm goin' solo.

This episode I am joined by Emma, single mother of four sons aged 21, 6,4 and 1, three of whom have been formally diagnosed with autism. 

Emma kindly made time for me in her very busy schedule to come into her home for a relaxed conversation about how she manages her family in all it's complexity. The ambient background noise includes children, a baby, support workers and dogs - I love it!

Emma has such a pragmatic approach to life and parenting and I really admire her strength and resilience. It's clear that her priorities are very much her children and the safety and happiness of her family as a whole. And somehow she holds it all together and makes it work.

Enjoy! 

This episode I am joined by children's author Jevita Nilson who published her first children's picture book called "Happy Hearts" after the death of her beloved mother, who was her greatest friend and source of support. The book features her mother and her son and provides a way for children to gain greater understanding of grief, loss and death, simultaneously providing comfort and age appropriate answers to tricky questions.

Jevita is yet another example of an 'ordinary' person creating something extraordinary within their lives. I found Jevita's story to be incredibly inspiring, primarily because of it's simplicity. She felt inspired by an idea and she made it happen, and in doing so created a priceless tribute to her mother's life and impact.

Find out more about Jevita and her books at her website: www.jevitanilson.com

Love this episode with my gorgeous little sister Tanya who lives in Cairns, Queensland and who had to do some serious career pivoting in light of the near decimation of the tourism industry impacting her scuba diving/musician vocations.

Like myself, Tanya has always had an adventurous spirit and an open mind to opportunity. Our conversation covers concepts such as adventure, the power of rites of passage in changing perception, and having an open mind when opportunities knock. We ponder how our parents and our upbringing in a small, landlocked wheat and sheep farming town shaped the lives we have chosen today. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. For me it was nourishment for the soul.

It was a privilege to spend time recently with Irena Nurkic, specialist physiotherapist in Women's, Men's and Pelvic Health (recently awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists) with over 20 years experience in the field at Royal Perth Hospital. Irena is also a lecturer and clinical tutor at Curtin University for the postgraduate Continence and Pelvic Health Masters course. 

Irena is a highly respected figure in the physiotherapy world and renowned for her knowledge, experience and passion for her field. In our discussion we cover how we define our profession, what conditions we treat and who we can help as well as the best way to access these specific services in the private and public health systems.

It's likely that pelvic health will be relevant to you or someone you love at some point in your lifetime so I highly recommend this episode as a comprehensive overview of how physiotherapy fits into the picture.
 
At the time of recording, Irena had recently lost her brother (who was not living in Australia) to coronavirus despite not having any pre-existing medical conditions. As she so poignantly urges, please take care of yourselves, each other and heed the medical advise we are given as it is all we have to prevent further devastation caused by this terrible pandemic. 

This episode I am joined by powerhouse businesswoman and mother of two under five Taryn Watson, Director of the fabulous FitRight Physio - a business focussed on providing pelvic floor friendly exercise classes for women as well as a plethora of information and resources on all things relating to women's health.

We explore Taryn's personal journey to how she got to where she is today and the ongoing and evolving challenges of trying to find personal balance whilst running a business. We talk about the importance of increasing awareness of pelvic floor health, the importance of being pro-active and how women's health physiotherapists are such a great resource for this.

Taryn has so much knowledge and experience on all things women's health - I hope you enjoy our chat. The documentary Taryn refers to is The Bleeding Edge and it's currently available on Netflix. 

This 'episode' is a body scan meditation which, as the title suggests, and which all my body scan audio recordings will do, includes the pelvic floor. This audio is appropriate for any women who wishes to use it as part of a mindfulness practice. Keep in mind that in this form it is a general resource only and you should always seek professional advice for any specific issues, problems or symptoms you are experiencing as an individual. 

This 'episode' is a body scan meditation which, as the title suggests, and which all my body scan audio recordings will do, includes the pelvic floor. This audio is appropriate for any women who wishes to use it as part of a mindfulness practice. Keep in mind that in this form it is a general resource only and you should always seek professional advice for any specific issues, problems or symptoms you are experiencing as an individual.