Alopecia And Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

You probably assumed from the title but I just wanted to say it again, September is alopecia and childhood cancer awareness month! You all know what cancer is and most of you will know that there was a boy that I admired very much of passed away this year from it. Since hearing Silas' story I've been trying to help raise awareness for childhood cancer and supporting other kids who struggle with it. But I don't how many of you know what alopecia is. Its an autoimmune disease where your immune system thinks your hair follicles are foreign, so it attacks them. I am all for helping raise awareness for this because I also have an autoimmune disease, ITP, and I know how much they suck.

   So the real question is.....What can we do?

   Well I'm going to give you some ways that you can raise awareness for each of these! Here is a list of things for childhood cancer: 

• Wear lots of gold! Gold is the color for childhood cancer. I've got my nails painted all gold and you should too. Gold goes with anything, so just and a dash of it to whatever you're wearing.
• Go and Like Silas' Facebook! His mom, Jessica, runs the page and since her sons passing she has used it to help other kids with cancer! So go and support her by clicking This Link!
• Donate. Donate toys to a children's hospital or money to a cancer foundation.

   Honestly I don't know many ways to help to raise awareness for alopecia because I myself have just been introduced to the knowledge of it so I'm still really unsure. But allow me to direct you to someone who can give you information. Head over to Facebook and Like Shine On With The Bald Princess. Its run by a very lovely princess who I've gotten to honor of talking to. She has alopecia areata and she uses her Facebook as a way to not only raise awareness but also to help people see what beauty really is. Also, press THIS LINK to head to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation website. Also, the color to wear for this is blue! So I would suggest just make a blue and gold outfit :)

   Now, here are a few things that the lovely bald princess would like you guys to know about alopecia:

   "Alopecia is an auto-immune disease that is not life threatening but it is life altering, so while I am not dying and most of the world views hair as merely cosmetic....I HAVE A REAL DISEASE THAT DESERVES REAL ATTENTION, RESEARCH AND A CHANCE FOR A CURE. not because I am unhappy or not confident in who I am without hair but because I would like to have a healthy and fully functioning body just like others out there."

   "You probably think that okay so you have no hair just wear a wig, or a hat or something just get over it, but honestly what I want you to know today about alopecia is that it is much more complex and affects us psychologically more then most would realize, and that there are alot of emotions that play into whether to wear a wig or not and how comfortable one is with these options that everyone just throws at us and tells us to just accept like it is no big deal... NEWS FLASH TO US IT IS A BIG DEAL!"

   

   So there it is! Wear gold and blue and go out and support childhood cancer and alopecia!