So it’s been just over two weeks doing Frocktober and I’ve learnt a few things!
- I’m not really a dress person. That’s not to say I don’t like dresses but sometimes (most of the time) I just want to wear pants, or a skirt or let’s face it, nothing.
- I own A LOT of blue. Not just dresses, but clothes in general. There just seems to be a lot of blue in my wardrobe. I think I know what my favourite colour is.
- Donating comes in all shapes and sizes. OCRF were kind enough to send me some ovarian cancer pins to sell and I think when people can see something physical in exchange for what they’re giving they are more inclined to give. When you’re friends are doing something like Frocktober people want to support them and in turn are supporting an amazing cause.
But after realising all of this I also realised two more serious things. One is that if you think it’s hard wearing a dress every day or donating a dollar here or there to a good cause, imagine what it would be like living with Ovarian cancer. Or in the case of most, not living because it’s often detected too late.
The other is that as women, especially young women in our 20s, we don’t pay enough attention to ourselves. I see a particular meme going around lately which pretty much says when you’re a kid your parents take care of all your doctors appointments and when you get to your 20s you avoid having to go to the doctor all the time and just hope you don’t die.
A joke, obviously, but doing Frocktober this year made me look at that in a different way. Sometimes going to the doctor costs money and sometimes even though we don’t feel right we put it aside and say it will pass or it’s nothing to worry about. Or something more common with women is that we feel guilty about saying something is wrong because we’re either wasting someones time if it isn’t or we’re complaining.
But our 20s is when we should start getting to know our bodies. Getting to know our bums, our boobs, our skin, our hair and what they look like on a regular basis so that when they don’t look right we know and we can do something about it. We also need to recognise what it feels like when we feel good and healthy so that when we start to feel off we can do something. I’m not saying by any means that Ovarian Cancer has obvious symptoms that we can keep an eye out for, just that if we’re aware when something feels off we might get to it in time.
It doesn’t have to be a doctor visit straight away, it can be a simple google search or a coffee with a friend or family member just to see what someone else thinks about it. We should never put off checking on our health and we should never feel guilty about “wasting” someones time with our problems. When one woman dies from ovarian cancer every 10 hours because it’s often detected too late, it’s better to check or chat and find nothing is wrong than to not check and be facing the idea that you left it too late.
Frocktober isn’t just about raising awareness, it’s about raising money for research because even if everybody was aware of the disease there still isn’t much you can do about detection rates without research.
The OCRF have three main goals:
- The development and implementation of an early detection program for ovarian cancer
- Improving the mortality rate, management and long-term survival of women with ovarian cancer
- Gaining fundamental understanding of the causes of ovarian cancer
So this October wear a frock, chat to a friend about how you’re feeling, get to know your body and if you have a chance please donate! xx
A big thank you to everyone who has already donated on my Everyday Hero supporter page or purchased a pin for my Frocktober journey.
Ronnie 