Louise Ben-Nathan
The former cancer patient improving women’s gynaecological health
The former cancer patient improving women's gynaecological health
Having spent 18 years working in the film and television industry, Louise Ben-Nathan’s life changed overnight in 2018 when, at the age of 40, she was diagnosed with stage 2 Triple Negative breast cancer. She carried a mutation which meant her chances of developing breast (and ovarian) cancer had always been high.
In remission, Louise’s life took another unexpected turn. “It was at my post-surgical check-up that the genesis for my company took place. I asked my gynaecologist why cervical smear tests were so painful for me. His response shocked me: ‘We can get in there when you are unconscious so there can’t be a problem.’ I left my appointment feeling that I hadn’t been heard.”
Louise was far from alone, discovering that one in four women are not currently attending their cervical screening appointments largely due to the negative and sometimes traumatic procedure. LBN Innovations was born with the intention of solving this problem. They have developed a compact medical device to replace the speculum in cervical screenings, with the goal of encouraging more women to undertake medical appointments and thereby reducing the risk of developing ovarian cancer.