Catherine James

Getting my pits out for PCOS

Fundraising for Verity The Polycystic Ovaries Self Help Group
£441
raised of £50 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Event: Armpits4August, from 1 August 2013 to 31 August 2013

Story

Most of the time, if I do mention my polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), I shy away from explaining the ways it affects me. It's one of the most common causes of infertility and most of us hide it - because one of its fun features is being a hairier-than-normal lass (whatever normal is) and we're embarrassed. 

I've had to really talk myself into doing this but, from my own experiences, I know a lot of people don't really know what PCOS is, or that it can affect hair growth - and a lot of people don't know about all the associated risks (endometrial cancer, type-II diabetes, cardivascular disease, stroke, miscarriage if you do manage to get pregnant - to name a few).

I also really want to take control of and pride in my own body and stop imposing someone else's ideals on myself. I find it sad that I don't know how much my armpit hair will even grow because I've been shaving it off for over half of my life.

 

Lastly, it can be a very difficult condition to come to terms with initially, and a support network can make it so much easier to realise it's not the worst thing in the world. Verity provides this support and also helps drive current research into PCOS, so I'd be honoured to raise funds for them.

I also promise that, if there's enough hair by the last week of August, I'll dye it a jazzy colour. And there'll be photos. And maybe some glitter.

Please just donate a couple of quid if you're able.

Thanks.

Share this story

Help Catherine James

Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations

You can also help by sharing this link on

About the charity

Verity is a self help group set up in 1997 to help women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The charity is completely self funded and is the only national charity for women with PCOS. PCOS affects millions of women in the UK and worldwide (approximately 5-10 per cent) .

Donation summary

Total raised
£441.00
+ £77.38 Gift Aid
Online donations
£441.00
Offline donations
£0.00

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.