frocktober: dressing up for ovaries everywhere

Wearing a dress every day for each day in October, you say? For a girl who maintains the theory that you can easily get a good five days out of a pair of jeans, the thought of frocking-it-up for a whole month is daunting. Luckily there are some pretty cool birds out there doing exactly this – and it’s not just to ‘look really pretty’ for four weeks.

It’s Frocktober and all-round awesome person, Kim Wheeler, AKA Savage Kitten, is getting her dress on for a shit-hot cause this month.

Here are the facts, they ain’t pretty.

Every ten hours, one Australian woman dies from ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is a real arse-hat in the cancer domain, it’s known as a ‘silent-killer’ as symptoms can be hard to pick and often occur in the late stages. And crappy fact number one is that there is no early detection test.

The lovely people of science are striving for a cure, better treatments and an early detection test with their petri dishes and lab coats.  However, curing cancer costs a bomb and with no government funding, wearing a dress for 31 days in October has become very important – this is what Frocktober is all about.

Kim is a designer, creating art and other worldly items from her home on the Gold Coast. Today, she is dressing up for day seven of her fundraising mission in her second year of Frocking.

‘I think Frocktober is one small step towards getting more media attention, it doesn’t have the same spotlight as breast or prostate cancer at all.

‘This month is also breast cancer awareness month and next month is Movember, so it really seems to get overshadowed.

‘My mother died 25 years ago and medical science is still trying to develop a test. A lot more research is needed. My mother had chemo and radiation and still died within eight months of being diagnosed, I was 16.

‘I love dresses, so to me, Frocktober is a wonderful way to support the cause closest to my heart. I use social media to ask for donations. Last year I reached my target and this year looks promising as I was over half way to my target in the first four days,’ she said.

If you’re reading this you probably have ovaries – if not, you know someone who does – so for the love of ovaries everywhere go online and check out Froctober. You can donate to Kim’s cause here frocktober.everydayhero.com/au/kim and see her photos of her Frocking everyday in October on her Savage Kitten Facebook page here.

For more information regarding the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation and ovarian cancer visit www.ocrf.com.au