An Evening with The Eve Appeal

My regular blog readers will know that women’s reproductive health and gynae cancers are matters close to my heart, having shared my cervical cancer experience and subsequent infertility with you here on my blog and also via the Huffington PostSo I was particularly proud and excited when the invitation to attend an event at The Detox Kitchen in association with The Eve Appeal pinged into my inbox recently. The Eve Appeal is a charity whose main aim is raising awareness and funding research in the five gynaecological cancers – ovarian, womb, cervical, vaginal and vulval.

Athena LamnisosCEO of The Eve Appeal charity, had read my article via Twitter and subsequent tweets around raising awareness, and so invited me along to the event. Of course I immediately accepted and attended last night, accompanied by one of my besties, Kez Wells.

The evening was fantastic from start to finish: we were warmly welcomed with a glass of bubbly and some delicious healthy canapes, before mingling with fellow supporters of the charity and actress/comediennes Jane Horrocks and Helen Lederer.

 

 

Athena kicked off with a passionate speech about the vital work of the charity, highlighting the fact that 21000 women are diagnosed with gynae cancer in the UK each year, with 21 dying daily, before handing the floor over to Cherry Healey

 


Cherry, TV presenter and author of Letters to my Fanny, gave a lively talk about the importance of knowing the various parts of our own anatomy as women, and the cringe-factor that we still feel when discussing what goes on “down below.” Despite having had a child and being in her mid-thirties, she still experienced embarrassment when talking to her doctor. This gave her the impetus to confront the stigma and write the book – one which I’ve now added to my ever-increasing reading list.

 

 

Next up was Caroline Presho, whose life has been greatly affected by cancer, (despite never having had it herself), due to her family history and being a carrier of the BRCA mutation, giving her and her sister an 87% chance of contracting the disease themselves. She told her moving story – culminating in a preventative double mastectomy and partial hysterectomy – with humour and grace. Fortunately she was able to have 4 children prior to the surgery, but spoke of her obvious concerns for her own 2 daughters; full credit to her for sharing her story and campaigning to educate and protect others. Find further information and support over at The BRCA Umbrella.


There was just time to have a gorgeous manicure (I opted for brick red polish complete with tiny heart-shaped diamantes) by mobile beauty specialists Perfect 10 using Essie products before the raffle was drawn…which I won!

 

I was presented with a gift voucher for a pampering home visit by Perfect 10. I can’t wait to get it booked into my diary – I’m off to Ibiza at the weekend so am eagerly eyeing up the full-body massage, which will be very gratefully received after an exhausting weekend’s clubbing.

There was just time for a informative chat with a few of the Eve Appeal’s staff about the essential work they do before it was time for us to head out into the autumn evening, carrying our ‘Stop Ovary Acting’ tote bags filled with period-related supplies and a host of goodies courtesy of Pinkparcel.

  

 

A huge thank you to all at The Detox Kitchen and The Eve Appeal for an inspiring and memorable evening, full of invaluable information which I will definitely be using in the future in my ongoing mission to help other women avoid gynae cancers.

 

You can support the valuable work of The Eve Appeal by donating here 🙂


Sam x


Fancy reading my back-story before you go any further? You can find my other blogs at:

www.costaricachica1.blogspot.com
www.samgoessolo.blogspot.com
www.mummymission.blogspot.com
www.worldwidewalsh.blogspot.com

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