Health
Remember Movember? Well, here comes Julyna
June 20, 2011
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Amy Dempsey
STAFF REPORTER
It was November. Moustaches were in full bloom. And a group of women were chatting, over drinks, about how it was a shame they couldn’t grow their facial hair for cancer.
Then someone had what seemed at first like a silly idea. Why don’t we design our down-there hair for cervical cancer?
Laughter ensued and ideas flew across the table. Beavember? Muffember? Vulvember?
They dozen or so women moved onto summer and settled on Julyna.
The half-baked scheme has since morphed into a month-long event backed by the Canadian Cancer Society and supported by a growing list of sponsors.
“We hope the humour will help women feel comfortable talking about cervical cancer and talking about that area,” says founder Vanessa Willson, 29, a nurse at St. Michael’s Hospital.
The goal is to raise $50,000 through individual donations and a black-tie fundraiser on July 28, and to get people talking about cervical cancer, human papillomavirus and the importance of regular Pap tests.
Throughout their 20s, Willson and the group of women who dreamt up Julyna each had at least one friend who was diagnosed with HPV — a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.
“We were hearing friends saying ‘I have this. I’m scared.’ That kind of conversation was happening a lot,” Willson says.
Three in four sexually active Canadians will contract an HPV infection through sexual contact, usually without realizing they have the virus.
That, along with the fact that cervical cancer can affect women in their age group, is why they chose it as their cause.
Cervical cancer is the second-most common cancer in Canadian women ages 20 to 44. Each year, about 1,110 women contract the disease and 450 die from it.
Willson hopes Julyna-spread awareness will encourage more women to get regular Pap tests, which can prevent cervical cancer through early detection.
Reactions to the vagina-focused fundraiser have varied.
“Some people laugh out loud hysterically,” says Jessie Behan, 29, a sales representative and actress who is Willson’s best friend and a member of the Julyna team.
“Some people are like, ‘Hmm I don't really know. That’s kind of weird. Do people actually do that?’ Yes. They do.”
Many people want to know how participants will prove that they’ve done what they pledged to do.
“I get that a lot, especially from men,” Willson says. She points out that people who sponsor marathon runners probably aren’t going to be at the finish line waiting to see if they made it.
“I think people will still donate, even without the proof.”
All proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society, which chose Julyna to be a member of its community partnerships program from a pool of about 500 applications.
“It’s unique, it’s different, it’s cutting edge — which is really what events need these days to cut through the clutter,” said society spokesman Guy Laporte.
“The folks behind this even are extremely committed, extremely pumped.”
Anyone can participate in the below-the-belt fundraising event by signing up to join team Julyna on the Canadian Cancer Society’s website.
Participants can groom at home or make an appointment at Gee Beauty on Roxborough St. W. at Yonge St., which will donate a portion of its $40 to $60 fee from all Julyna bikini waxes to the charity. Those who aren’t comfortable grooming their nether regions can opt to support other participants.
Stencils for suggested hair designs — soon be available for download on Julyna’s Facebook page — include the arrow, the Charlie Chaplin, the Barbara Bush, the Movember, the rising sun, the side part and the David Suzuki.
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