Hi everyone!

For those of you who know me well, you’ll know I don’t tend to post on social media frequently but I would like to share something personal in the hope of reaching as many people as I can in raising awareness about a condition I have recently been diagnosed with: Endogenous Cushing’s Syndrome. For me, this involves a tumour in one of my adrenal glands (which sit above the kidneys) and there is no known cause for why it happens. It’s a very rare condition - only 10 per million people are diagnosed with the condition worldwide every year.

The adrenal glands are important in producing the hormone Cortisol. Cortisol has several functions including helping to regulate blood pressure, the immune system, balancing insulin to keep blood sugar normal and helps your body to respond to stress. In Cushing’s Syndrome, Cortisol becomes severely overproduced leading to a wide range of unpleasant symptoms as the regulation of these functions become disrupted.

The journey of diagnosis can be a long draining process involving extensive investigations (on average 7 years). The problem with Cushing’s is that the symptoms can overlap with lots of other medical conditions, and with it being so rare it is often not considered a possibility or it is missed as a diagnosis completely. If left untreated it can lead to numerous health problems and can be fatal.

The Pituitary Foundation UK is an amazing charity that helps to support patients’ affected by pituitary conditions such as Cushing’s, alongside their carers and families, through the process of investigations to treatment and recovery -  I would love to be able to support them to help raise awareness about Cushing’s Syndrome, with this now being something personal to me.

As I was planning to run the London Royals Parks Half Marathon this October but unfortunately will no longer be able to do this - my family and friends have taken up the challenge of completing a minimum of 1 million steps individually from 1^st June – 31^st August 2021 to raise money for the foundation. I will also be completing as many steps as I can up until the date of my surgery!

1 million steps in 3 months is the equivalent of:

- over 600 km in distance walked (or walking from London to Edinburgh)

- approximately 10,870 steps every day!

Thank you to everyone who has decided to take up the challenge with me so far (if anyone else would like to get involved please let me know!):

Harshad, Kailash, Ajul, Roshni, Hilan, Dineshmasa, Rekhamasi, Hiteshkaka, Kaminikaki, Raxafaiba, Dipakmama, Hemal, Meera, Aarti, Helen, Kushal, Rushil, Samil, Ameet, Sunil, Champa, Yogesh, Sanjita, Julan, Priya, Aashna, Prerna, Nikhil A, Sonalben, Kandarp, Ish, Sree, Nikki, Kajal, Yasmin, Ayesha, Sona, Alisha, Aviral, Kishan, Sawan, Shivi, Pritesh, Kinneri, Hursh, Jasraj, Ravi, Chand, Shiv P, Olly, Amita, Krupa, Jay, Bindal, Shiv V, Nikhil S, Mihir, Topsy, Nasim

We would all hugely appreciate your support through a donation of any amount - no matter how large or small - knowing that any funds raised is going to such an admirable charity will definitely serve us all as motivation over the next 3 months!

Many thanks for your generosity,

Minal 

If you would like to find out more about the condition please visit the website below:

https://www.pituitary.org.uk/information/pituitary-conditions/cushings-disease/