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Dear PCOS Challenger,
We are happy to report that
PCOS Challenge has hit yet another milestone this month reaching over 10,000 members in our online and offline support groups.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support, word of mouth referrals, and sharing of PCOS Challenge content through email and various social media sites. We appreciate your efforts to help bring greater awareness to PCOS and to share answers with women seeking to overcome the condition and related symptoms.
Your efforts have directly contributed to our exponential growth over the last few years and have helped us to become one of the most powerful voices and support resources for women with PCOS worldwide.
We love how helpful the members of PCOS Challenge are to each other. It is heart-warming to hear the stories of truimph, to learn from each others' experiences and to know that we have a source for encouraging words when we need them.
"Real Women with PCOS" Series
Many of you asked us to feature more stories of women with PCOS, so in addition to learning from PCOS experts on the PCOS Challenge radio show, we will be doing a monthly “Real Women with PCOS” segment.
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January’s "Real Woman" was LuAyne. She uses pole dance as fitness activity and a fun way to establish a more positive body image for herself.
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LuAyne promotes self-acceptance in others and encourages PCOS Challengers to find new ways to move their bodies to a healthier place. Listen to LuAyne's radio interview now.
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February's "Real Woman" is Monica. She is a PCOS Challenge member who enjoys cooking and exercise and is organizing a face-to-face support group in Louisiana.
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Reach out to Monica if you are in Louisiana and would like to be a part of this group. It is a great thing when we can support and learn from each other.
Very Special Thank You
Last but not least, thank you to everyone who donated to our year-end fundraising campaign to help us increase advocacy efforts and provide more support resources to the PCOS community. You are true champions in the fight against PCOS.
HOPE for PCOS
For those of you who would like to show your continued support, we encourage you to learn more about our HOPE for PCOS program and to become a monthly giver. Even small dollar amounts will make a big difference. 93% of all donations received go directly to support programs for women with PCOS.
Thank you for reading and stay encouraged!
In good health,
Sasha Ottey
Executive Director
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Watch the Latest Episode of the
PCOS Challenge Television Show |
 Episode 05:
PCOS Integrative Care
Beth Heller, co-founder of Pulling Down the Moon, shares integrative care approaches to PCOS.
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 Episode 06 Preview:
PCOS Diet and Nutrition - Cooking
Don Shaw, Head Chef of Diet-to-Go, leads the women in a cooking competition and teaches them how to prepare quick and nutritious meals that work well for PCOS diets.
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| Sponsor Spotlight |
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Circle + Bloom (PCOS Challenge Radio Show Sponsor)
 Joanne Verkuilen
Co-Founder
Circle + Bloom
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We salute our new radio show Gold sponsor, Circle + Bloom, for their continued support and commitment to the PCOS community! As a PCOS Challenge member, you are eligible for exclusive 20-30% discounts on Circle + Bloom mind-body audio programs for PCOS and fertility. Just enter PCOS Challenge discount code PCOS or TTCPCOS30 at the time of check out.
To learn more about Circle + Bloom programs for women with PCOS, listen to the PCOS Challenge radio show with Circle + Bloom co-founder, Joanne Verkuilen and visit CircleBloom.com.
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| PCOS Challenge Expert Series |
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You Are Not Alone. You Now Have a Team of Experts to
Help You Overcome PCOS!
As part of our continuing mission to provide women with PCOS the best information and support resources for overcoming Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS Challenge has teamed up with five renowned PCOS health and wellness experts to bring you the PCOS Challenge Expert Series™.
PCOS Expert Series Workshops (CDs Now Available)
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| "Like" Us on Facebook |
We've Got a New Facebook Page!
Facebook.com/pcoschallenge
Like our new page to stay abreast of
the best PCOS treatment options for
weight loss, fertility, hirsutism and more.
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| HOPE for PCOS Monthly Giving Program |
Become a Champion in the Fight Against PCOS
Watch Video
You’re invited to take a leadership role in the fight against
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome by becoming a member of the
PCOS Challenge – HOPE for PCOS monthly giving program.
As a monthly giver, you provide much needed financial support to programs that women with PCOS depend on to help overcome their symptoms and reduce their increased risk for life-threatening related diseases including cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Gifts of all sizes are welcome.
Even donations as small as $10 a month can make a big difference.
93% of all donations received go directly to
support programs for women with PCOS.
All gifts are tax deductible and greatly appreciated.
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| Featured PCOS Challenge Videos |
Please watch and share these videos on Facebook, Twitter and
your other social networks.
How to Create an Inexpensive
Home Gym
PCOS Challenge Fitness Coach Josef Brandenburg shares tips to help you create an effective home gym for under $200 to stay fit inexpensively year-round.
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Preventing Cardiovascular Disease
Women with PCOS constitute the largest group of women at risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Dr. Gregory Pokrywka shares the signs of CVD and appropriate actions to take to help reduce your risk.
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| New on PCOS Challenge Radio |
Upcoming Radio Shows
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Guest
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Date/Time
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Monica
Real Women with
PCOS Series
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Wednesday,
February 15, 2012 at
6pm, EST
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Guest
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Date/Time
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Marsha Lucas,
Clinical Psychologist
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Wednesday,
February 22, 2012 at
6pm, EST
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Rewiring Your Brain for Love
Dr. Marsha Lucas is a licensed psychologist, neuropsychologist, and author of the new book, Rewire Your Brain for Love. She joins the PCOS Challenge radio show to discuss emotional wellness and helpful ways to improve your relationship with yourself and with others.
Dr. Lucas has been practicing psychotherapy and studying the brain-behavior relationship for over twenty years. She has a special interest in the practice of mindfulness, which may be at the heart of well-being, including emotional balance and resilience, enhanced relationships and friendships, and greater empathy and connectedness.
Featured Past Radio Shows
Missed an episode of the PCOS Challenge radio show or want to listen to it again. Listen to it any time on PCOS.tv.
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| Member Spotlight: PCOS Challengers Making a Difference |
 Tanya Ryan
PCOS Documentary Filmmaker
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Tanya's PCOS Journey:
"I've just celebrated my 50th birthday, and I can truly say that it is the best time of my life right now. For the past 25 years, I have lived with PCOS and many of those years I suffered silently and found myself in a great depression most of the time. In 1995 when I was finally diagnosed, not many people knew about PCOS, and it was difficult to try to make people understand what was going on with me. My doctors didn't quite understand it, so I knew the lay person would not...Read More"
Why I Support PCOS Challenge:
"I was thrilled to come across the PCOS Challenge organization. It is the most informative and well organized support system I have found since I began my search for support. For the first nine years of my condition, I went undiagnosed and it was a living nightmare. I am so very grateful that women have the support of PCOS Challenge, a place where they can come to and know they are not alone. A place where one need not feel afraid or ashamed. This condition is not just physical; it affects women and their families, emotionally, financially, environmentally and spiritually. I believe that each of us has a responsibility to each other, and the service and support that PCOS Challenge offers is one of a kind, and support for it can only be good for the world at large. I am very pleased that women with PCOS finally have a place to come home to."
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| Featured Article: Stay-At-Om Sex |
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Marsha Lucas, PhD
As a psychologist, I see people in my practice all the time who complain that the thrill of sex dies down after awhile. It gets, well, routine. Same-old, same-old. Going through the motions. Sometimes, they get around to asking what they can do to spice things up.
"Yes, there is something you can do," I say.
Their eyes get a little wider, their hearts jump a bit.
They're not always thrilled when I tell them they need to change their brain structure. And sometimes even less thrilled when I tell them one of the best ways to change their brain for better sex, is mindfulness meditation.
A key factor in having better sex is actually being there when you're having it. Being there not just physically -- being fully present, in thought, word and deed. (Not exactly what the Boy Scouts had in mind with that catchphrase.) It isn't about adding props or toys or costumes -- it's about really showing up and tuning in, to the moment, yourself and your partner.
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| About PCOS Challenge, Inc. |
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PCOS Challenge, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (PCOSChallenge.org). We are one of the largest and most active support organizations for women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome worldwide. We touch the lives of women with PCOS and their supporters each year through cable television and radio programming (PCOS.tv), online and offline support groups (PCOSChallenge.com), and education and awareness initiatives.
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Since our programs began in 2009, we've helped many women find answers that helped them overcome their struggles with infertility, weight gain, anxiety and depression and reduce their risk for life-threatening related conditions.
If you know other women with PCOS, encourage them to join PCOSChallenge.com to gain the information and support they need to live happier and healthier.
Help spread the word and make PCOS a public health priority!
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10 Reasons
PCOS Challenge Needs Your Donation Today |
A Cure for PCOS
Starts with You!
We need your help now to:
- Raise greater awareness about PCOS to bring in more funding for a cure and to gain more support from corporations, private foundations and the general public for research and support programs.
- Keep top quality PCOS programs free or available at the lowest possible cost.
- Create more local PCOS Challenge support programs across the country.
- Hold events to help women and teens get screened for PCOS.
- Create a referral hotline for PCOS patients to find doctors, specialists and other health care professionals.
- Expand doctor-patient outreach programs for current PCOS patients and women newly diagnosed with PCOS.
- Expand PCOS Challenge television programming into more cable markets across the U.S. and abroad.
- Increase the frequency, extend the length and enhance the overall quality of all PCOS Challenge programming.
- Help end health care disparities due to language barriers by making Spanish and other language translations of PCOS Challenge programming available.
- Provide audio descriptions, closed captioning and transcriptions for the PCOS Challenge television and radio shows to make them accessible to blind/visually impaired and deaf/hard of hearing communities.
Your support will make a difference.
PCOS Challenge receives very little government funding and relies on the support of the community in the form of volunteers, private donations and fundraising events.
Nearly two-thirds of our annual budget comes from individual donors like you. Every donation and every dollar amount makes a difference.
93% of all donations received go directly to support programs for women with PCOS.
Please donate now!
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PCOS Challenge
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| Subscription Reminder |
You are receiving this email from PCOS Challenge, Inc. because you have had an existing relationship with our nonprofit organization; purchased a product or service from our company; subscribed to our newsletter; or are a member of one of our PCOS support websites.
To ensure that you continue to receive emails from PCOS Challenge, add support@pcoschallenge.com to your address book today.
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