As many of you know and have already read in the fab blogs supporting Breast Cancer Care, this October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a supporter of Breast Cancer Care I wanted to remind all you ladies to be breast aware and check yourselves regularly! Check them in the shower, down the gym or, get your partner to do it for you! It only takes a minute and is so important.
I've seen first hand the impact breast cancer can have on a woman and her family. When she was just 31 years old, the lovely Kelly Short was diagnosed with breast cancer. After her treatment she appeared on How to Look Good Naked and it was clear how it had affected her body confidence. Before the show, Kelly had two attempts at surgery to try and save her breast. However she was then told that a mastectomy was necessary and that reconstruction wasn't an option at this point in her treatment.
She told me she felt totally devastated at losing her breast and her positive attitude turned to depression.
She said that before the cancer she was a confident, outgoing young woman with no particular body confidence issues. Following her treatment for breast cancer she was emotionally shattered, a shadow of her former self. She felt her body had been mutilated by mastectomy and didn't recognise the girl staring back at her from the mirror. In fact, she was horrified by her own reflection. Feeling that she could longer plan for an uncertain future, Kelly began to worry about how she could even begin to move on with her life. Kelly even postponed her wedding to her fiancée Toby.
When Kelly appeared on the show in 2008, I knew I had a big challenge ahead. It took all Kelly's strength and quite a bit of time to change her self-perception but she learned to love that fab bod again. It was fantastic watching her strut her stuff down the catwalk and being proud of her body and who she is.
After the show Kelly set a date for the wedding and started modelling for a company specialising in post-surgery bras. She also gives regular talks to other people affected by breast cancer and has been spotted on the catwalk again as a model at Breast Cancer Care's annual fashion show this year!
In a world of sleeveless tops and plunging necklines, it can be a real struggle after treatment for breast cancer to find clothes that make you feel fabulous. And that's before we've even got to finding decent underwear or a bikini! That's why Breast Cancer Care's support services, such as their Lingerie Evenings, are so important to women who have been through breast cancer.
50,000 people across the UK are diagnosed with every year and Breast Cancer Care wants to be there to support each and every one of them. But they can't do that without your help!
That's why I am asking you all to turn your Fridays pink this October to raise lots of dollar! Money raised will help fund various vital services, such as the charity's helpline, information points in hospitals and face to face services for people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This October thousands of people across the UK will be eating pink, partying pink and, my favourite, dressing pink to raise money for Breast Cancer Care's Pink Fridays campaign and I want you all to join them.
Breast Cancer Care has even pinked up their Pink Fridays social media campaign with this fabulous free new app to pink up your facebook picture.
I can't wait to see some creative and chic pink ensembles to go with your pink cupcakes! Come on Gokettes, hop to it!
Love Gok x