PCOS Challenge Mobilizes Global Community for 2024 Awareness Month with Over 400 Landmark Lightings and National Tour

ATLANTA, Aug. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing in its major efforts to transform PCOS care and empower stakeholders, PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association has organized the largest PCOS Awareness Month to date for this September with nearly 1,000 partners and over 400 lighting events in 33 countries. "Voice of Strength, Agents of Change" is the 2024 PCOS Awareness Month theme. The September events and campaign are set to galvanize patients, healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to join forces in addressing the urgent needs of the PCOS community.

"Voice of Strength, Agents of Change" underscores the power of collective action in transforming PCOS care. This theme invites stakeholders to share personal stories, support patient-centered research, and contribute to initiatives that address the unmet needs of patients. Collaborative efforts will focus on amplifying stakeholder voices to initiate impactful changes across healthcare, including accelerating the development of new PCOS-specific treatments and empowering all stakeholders to co-create healthcare solutions with patients.

"It is an honor to be able to create opportunities for all PCOS stakeholders including patients, clinicians, researchers, and government agencies to learn and engage around PCOS awareness. PCOS is the most common hormone condition and a leading cause of infertility in women. It can have severe quality-of-life impacts, and lead to lifelong complications and other serious health conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, mental and maternal health complications and cancer," says Sasha Ottey, Founder and Executive Director of PCOS Challenge. "With an economic burden exceeding $15 billion a year in the U.S. alone and 50-70% of people with the condition going undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, it is crucial that we increase awareness, resources and innovations for improving PCOS outcomes. This year's theme, 'Voice of Strength, Agents of Change,' reflects our commitment to amplifying patient voices, closing gaps in care, and driving meaningful change."

The 2024 PCOS Awareness Month will kick off with the Seventh Annual World PCOS Day of Unity on Sunday, September 1st. Starting on World PCOS Day, hundreds of landmarks will illuminate teal at various points throughout the month, symbolizing global solidarity and awareness for PCOS.

"It is truly incredible to see the growth of PCOS awareness and PCOS Awareness Month over the last decade. It's inspiring to see many global leaders recognizing the seriousness of PCOS, shining a light on this important cause, supporting their communities, and engaging with us to bring change," says Ashley Levison, @PCOSGurl, the Patient Advisory Board Member who coordinated all the lighting events for PCOS Challenge. Ashley is the recipient of the PCOS Challenge Advocacy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Each week of PCOS Awareness Month has a specific focus:

• Week 1: PCOS Support and Advocacy (Sep. 1–7)
• Week 2: Fertility, Family Building, and Pregnancy and Maternal Health (Sep. 8-14)
• Week 3: Lifestyle Management for PCOS (Sep. 15-21)
• Week 4: PCOS Related Disorders (Sep. 22-28)
• Week 5: Adolescent Health (Sep. 29-30)

Throughout the month, PCOS Challenge will host multiple events bringing together patients, researchers, healthcare providers, industry leaders, and others to educate the global community about PCOS and promote the need for timely diagnosis and improved care. Key events include a workshop titled, "Advancing PCOS Research and Care: Innovations in Cardiometabolic Health and AI-Driven Diagnostics," featuring speakers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Additionally, PCOS Challenge will launch a national PCOS Tour of PCOS centers and clinics across the country to highlight advances in PCOS care and connect patients with expert resources.

PCOS Challenge thanks its partners and sponsors for their support in making this year's awareness month impactful.

For more information about PCOS Awareness Month, PCOS Challenge, sponsorship opportunities, lighting events, the social media toolkit, or to schedule media interviews, please visit PCOSAwarenessMonth.org and PCOSChallenge.org.

About PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association
Serving nearly 60,000 members, PCOS Challenge is the largest support and advocacy organization for people with PCOS. PCOS Challenge is the sponsoring organization for World PCOS Day and PCOS Awareness Month and offers supporting resources, information, and events.

Media Contact:
William Patterson
Director of Public Affairs
PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association
Telephone: 404-855-7244

SOURCE PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association

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