Why Do Women Still Have To Fight For Answers About Their Health?
When Camille Baker was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 49, doctors had one piece of advice: take it all out. The artists cancer had been found incredibly early, at stage 1A, and she wanted more information on the pros and cons of surgery. Instead, she hit a wall of silence and inconsistencies. Theres not enough reliable research available for women to make informed, life-changing decisions about their health, she says. Advertisement  While Bakers cancer doctors were focussed on removing the cancer, a private hormone specialist highlighted the risks of a sudden oestrogen drop, including an increased risk of dementia, osteoporosis and heart disease. Its not holistic, Baker says of womens healthcare. Maybe they dont think about women because theyve got a focus on the standard body, as [author] Caroline Criado Perez says, which is a male body. Advertisement  Our bodies are so much more complicated and problematic. The short answer was youre not having children at 49, so just take it all out, but its so much more nuanced than that.  Eventually, Baker decided to have both ovaries removed, instead of a full hysterectomy. Now, shes launching an interactive installation to call for improvements in womens reproductive healthcare. Advertisement  INTER/her Artist Camille Baker, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer aged 49. Bakers project, INTER/her, explores female reproductive diseases through a feminist lens. It takes visitors on a journey through the human body, where they enter a womb-like tent, before putting on a virtual headset and travelling through the body to the vaginal canal, cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes. At each stage of the journey, visitors hear real womens experiences of conditions including cervical cancer, fibroids, polyps and endometriosis. Between the stories, theres the sound of a heartbeat. Finally, the virtual tour comes to a white void and theres a story about a hysterectomy. Visitors are left to feel like theyve woken up in a hospital bed. Camille Baker INTER/her  The installation is fully immersive, with visitors invited to wear a haptic corset before entering the tent, which vibrates in different locations on the lower abdomen with different intensities and patterns. Advertisement  Baker says the stories highlight the physical pain of reproductive diseases, as well as the emotional impact and impossible decisions women are often forced to make. Its inspired by her own experience of the UK healthcare system, but also the women she met throughout her treatment, including two women who were on her ward after surgery. Both women had undergone full hysterectomies, without doctors informing them of the long-term implications. INTER/her A visitor of the virtual experience (left) and the haptic corset (right)  INTER/her is meant to be a conversation starter to get people to think about their bodies, do research and ask questions, says Baker. Dont take only one answer, get a second opinion and push the medical community to care about womens bodies. Theres so much more research that could be done.  Baker interviewed a number of women about their experiences and also took stories from books and forums, with voice actors recording the audio. As part of her research, the artist, whos Canadian but has lived in the UK for 14 years, spoke to a nurse through the charity Target Ovarian Cancer. The nurse told her British women are particularly squeamish about embarrassing symptoms, and this stops many from asking questions and seeking help. INTER/her The INTER/her tent. When researching, Baker also heard stories among her own family that theyd previously kept quiet, due to stigma. In the 1960s, her grandmother apparently went into hospital to have her appendix removed, but woke up to discover doctors had performed a full hysterectomy, without her prior consent. Although things have changed since then, a cousin also revealed shed had 11 surgeries in a bid to tackle endometriosis. She said pain from the condition, plus time off for surgery and recovery, had ruined much of her career. Baker says the main aim of the project is to tell women: If theres something going on, check it out, dont wait. And dont settle on only one opinion if you dont feel comfortable with that opinion, she adds. Go and look into it, research it, talk to other women, ask questions and try to figure out what those questions are, because doctors will only tell you what you ask them.