Women’s Health: Breaking the Taboos | Preview (Channel 5)

In this first episode, Cherry discovers the impact of chronically heavy periods and two shockingly common conditions — endometriosis and fibroids. Endometriosis affects 1.5 million women in Britain, making it as common as diabetes.

It’s the second most common gynecological condition in the UK. But because there are a range of symptoms, it’s often mistaken for other chronic conditions. The road to diagnosis can be long and takes a shocking average of eight years.

Cherry meets Helen, who is being helped to manage the condition. Like endometriosis, another disorder that can cause unusually heavy periods is fibroids. Up to 80 percent of women will develop uterine fibroids and, for one in five of them, they’ll cause serious problems.

Cherry meets a woman undergoing treatment to have hers removed. Journalist and presenter Kate Thornton opens up about her experience of the perimenopause. Some 13 million women in the UK are either perimenopausal or menopausal, and more than 75 percent of them are experiencing menopause-related symptoms.

But the majority don’t ask their GPs for help. Kate goes on a very personal journey to find out what might help her. And a group of women who suffer from incontinence try out products that claim to help.

Some one in three women experience urinary incontinence one year after giving birth, and three quarters of those women experience incontinence up to 12 years later. Our testers explore what might help them with potentially life-changing results.

Women’s Health: Breaking the Taboos airs Tuesday 9th-Friday 12th August on Channel 5.