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From SBS Examines, I'm Olivia Di Iorio. SBS Examines is here to dispel misinformation and disinformation impacting social cohesion. Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are avoiding necessary health checkups due to fear and cultural stigma. In this week's episode, SBS examines asks what needs to be done to change this. A warning, this podcast contains distressing content.
Neha Kumar
I'll never forget that phone call because she said to me, um, I was in the shower and I have had, she, she didn't even want to say the word breasts, you know, she goes, I've had this scab on my chest and um today in the shower I was leaning over and it started to bleed.
Olivia
Neha Kumar's mother Renu was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2014.
She says her mother turned a blind eye to her symptoms and left things too late. After receiving treatment a year later in 2015, Renu died.
Neha Kumar
I think she just didn't have a sensitive place where that really important part of her physical health could be understood and acknowledged.
Olivia
Renu immigrated from India to New Zealand in 1991 and didn't speak any English.
Neha Kumar
I remember living in an area which was quite heavily Caucasian dominated and our doctor was also Caucasian. And very rarely would she go, and I'm getting a little choked up because had there been a way for us to access health, I really do pray that that improves.
Olivia
Now 38 years old, Neha recalls how her mother had never mentioned any of the symptoms she had.
Neha Kumar
She never said she had anything happen physically, she never said she had the scab there, she never talked about finding a lump, and in fact, if I were to be honest, I don't think she was ever taught to scan and feel her breasts for lumps, especially in South Asian communities, we never talk about our bodies, especially private parts of our bodies.
Olivia
She says diverse women in Australia face stigma and a lack of education when it comes to health issues.
Shantha Viswanathan
Many men and women from South Asian communities were not participating in regular cancer screening, and due to so many reasons.
Olivia
Shantha Viswanathan is the president of Pink Sari Incorporated, a volunteer-run organisation that supports South Asian people impacted by cancer. Ms Viswanathan says for many, health is the last priority.
Shantha Viswanathan
The barriers are language barriers. So also for new arrivals who come for whom the settlement process takes priority over health. Plus they've not heard of any such screening programmes in their home country. They live far away. They've got long commutes to work. They've got mortgage pressures. They're time poor, so preventative healthcare is not a priority for them. The other thing is the cultural attitudes and beliefs. Then of course there is fear of pain, of medical procedures, of being judged, of the implications if it's a positive result, and modesty, of course, and generally a lack of awareness about the free national screening programmes because quite often they're not watching the free to air TV programmes, so they don't come across any of the advertisements.
Olivia
Originally from India, Nishi Puri says it was only when she came to Australia in the early 90s, she heard about cervical screenings.
Nishi Puri
When I was growing up in the 60s and the 70s, I had never ever heard of cervical cancer screening from anybody, neither my mum or my grandmother, and I don't think my grandmother ever got a cervical cancer check done, neither did my mum while she was in India. And so they never passed it on to me. It was never taught in schools and colleges at that time.
Olivia
She says she was confronted when she found out about the process, labelling it invasive, so she put it off for years despite her GP encouraging her to get one.
Nishi Puri
One day one of the workers at my work said to me that it's very important and you could be saving your life by doing this screening rather than putting it off. So then I made up my mind.
Olivia
Nishi even joined the Australian government's Own It campaign to spread awareness about the self-collect option for a cervical screening test.
Nishi Puri
This is not only about talking, but it's about saving lives. This cancer is preventable as long as we get our screenings done regularly, and with the new self swab, it's every five years, and it's very, very doable. So I encourage all the women to go for it because health comes first.
Mariam Chaalan
It's not just about me telling people, go get screened, it's about normalising the conversation, creating space for like, that trust, offering real choices, whether that's seeing a female GP or accessing interpreter services, or doing that self-collection. It's not just another medical test, it's a chance to prevent cancer, and everyone deserves that chance, no matter where they come from.
Olivia
Doctor Dr Mariam Chaalan is a general practitioner in Western Sydney. She says there's a lot of fear and stigma for many culturally and linguistically diverse women when it comes to health.
Mariam Chaalan
It's not something you discuss openly, especially if you're seeing a doctor from another background or a male doctor, for instance. There's a few layers to that, that stigma that I'd say as well, like, it's a fear of the unknown, not knowing that what a test involves, or worrying that it might be, you know, painful or embarrassing, you know, I've got to show the doctor my breasts or my vagina. And for other people that I see, it's cultural or it's generational, you know, they might come from, you know, a place where you want to go to the doctor when something's really wrong.
Olivia
Dr. Chaalan says misinformation is also stopping women from engaging in preventative care.
Mariam Chaalan
For cervical cancer screening in particular, lots of females from diverse backgrounds that I see have this assumption that - they've only had one sexual partner or they've had children or they've reached menopause - so that they don't really need to be involved in part of this preventative screening. And some have had previous negative experiences. Other doctors who aren't so culturally sensitive, they may have felt dismissed, misunderstood, or disrespected or not really understood because of their background or that language barrier and that experience, I kind of see a lot with my patients who have had bad experiences. It stays with them and it creates this ongoing fear and the avoidance of seeking help from health practitioners.
Olivia
Dr Chaalan says although she sees this fear more so in women, some men face it too. She says visibility is key.
Mariam Chaalan
We need education for these communities, and that's engaging with them in material that's appropriate.
Olivia
This episode was produced and presented by Olivia Di Iorio. To find out more, visit SBS.com.au/sbsexamines.
