Cork GP set to spread health message at major festival

SELF health-check routines need to be as second nature to us as our skin-care regimes.

That’s according to Carrigaline based GP Dr Monica Peres, who will be highlighting the importance of preventative health when she speaks a WellFest, Europe’s largest outdoor health, fitness and wellness festival.

Dr Monica, 34, is deeply passionate about promoting health and wellness and in her upcoming talk, she will shed light on the common self-checks that we all need to incorporate into our monthly routines.

They should include, she says, breast examinations which many women will already be doing, but also lesser-known lymph node checks.

“They’re in your neck and head and I’ll be demonstrating how to do them at WellFest,” she said.

Skin and moles also need to be monitored, to be aware of any changes that could indicate melanoma, and vulvas also need to be regularly checked.

“Yes, vulvas should be checked too – after all, they’re a part of you!” said Dr Monica.

Women, she said, are getting better at using the right terminology for their anatomy.

Before, my patients might say ‘down there’ and there’d be some embarrassment, but it’s becoming more normal to talk about these things, which is a good thing.

“The whole idea is that if you know what’s ‘normal’ for you by doing your checks, you’ll be able to recognise significant changes in your health and what they can mean,” she said.

Additionally, Dr Monica will spotlight the importance of the free cancer screening services available in Ireland and demonstrate testicular exams.

As a GP, she sees people ‘from the cradle to the grave’. The women’s health issues she deals regularly with not surprisingly relate to the menopause.

“It’s great that we’re talking about this now, but we have to make sure that we don’t focus on this at the expense of all other aspects of our health; in other words, that we don’t focus entirely on the hot flushes and not be aware of things like osteoporosis or heart health,” she said.

Contraception advice is another regular issue her female patients talk to her about.

“So is mental health, and people are becoming more open about talking about it and are willing to accept medical health, outside of just psychotherapy,” she said.

Dr Monica enjoys a public profile and is a regular TV contributor. She also has a large following on social media and has an impressive 110,000 followers on Instagram - @dr.blondieperes - where she shares advice from everything from why we need to clean our mobile phones to videos on IUD insertion.

“Social media is a great tool to reach out to people I otherwise couldn’t – and it can be fun!” she said.

Dr Monica is also running as a local election candidate for the Green Party in the Carrigaline area.

“From chatting to my patients, I can see that access to health services need to improve,” she said.

Things like physiotherapy, people are having to wait for two to three months for an appointment when they need to be seen as soon as possible.

“It’s the same if someone with mental health issues needs to see a therapist, there’s a wait. There has to be more resources put into community health.”

Having said that, Dr Monica is very aware of how different services are here, compared to her native Nigeria.

“I visited last year and the whole thing brought me to tears, the education around our bodies, access to services. When I came back, I had a new appreciation for what we have here, particularly our free screening services,” she said.

Dr Monica was raised in Dublin and is a graduate of Trinity College. She moved to Cork 10 years ago to do her internship in CUH and MUH.

She’s been living in Carrigaline for six years now, and Cork very much feels like home.

“I love it!” she said.

ABOUT WELLFEST

WellFest, Europe’s largest outdoor health, fitness and wellness festival, returns to Kilmainham jail on May 11 and 12. Other headliners include Vogue Williams, Joe Wicks and Maeve Madden.

WellFest features more than 150 health and wellness experts from Ireland and abroad, more than 15 festival areas and stages, delicious food and exciting brands. It boasts to have the ultimate feelgood experience for attendees to create memories that inspire them all year round.

As well as the annual festival, WellFest provides year-round wellness inspiration via wellfest.ie.