A Perthshire author who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 30 has taken to the streets in her underwear to raise awareness of the condition.
Fi Munro, who wrote the book How Long Have I Got?, was in Glasgow on Wednesday with 12 of her friends wearing teal-coloured lingerie and handing out 3,000 white roses for World Ovarian Cancer Day (WOCD).
Fi said she was amazed by the solidarity and kindness shown by the people she met during the event held in “freezing” weather.
She said: “A woman came down who had ovarian cancer herself but she had never met someone else with ovarian cancer so she came down for a hug.
“There were people who came down to find out more information and there was lot of solidarity. It was brilliant.
“We had people bring us hot drinks and local shops let us stand under their heaters so it was really nice, a nice community spirit.”
Teal is the colour that symbolises ovarian cancer and Fi was inspired by a similar stunt held by Canadian model Elly Mayday, 30, who died in March.
Fi said: “We do it in our underwear because one of the reasons that woman don’t get checked is because they are embarrassed by their bodies.
“I asked some friends if they wanted to do it and was amazed with the support I got.”
Fi was diagnosed with stage 4b ovarian cancer in January 2016.
She went on to write How Long Have I Got? and a popular online blog and has worked to raise awareness and funds to support other people dealing with cancer.
Fi has said that she hoped the eye-catching event would get people talking about the condition.
She said: “I really want to help save the lives of other women.”
The number of women being diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer is increasing.
Specialists say two of the main barriers to early diagnosis are not being aware of the symptoms and being too embarrassed to talk about their bodies with their GPs.
Fi is currently finishing her next book which deals with the public reaction she has experienced since her diagnosis
She said: “It’s about random acts of kindness and that’s something that really came through today as well.”
The book is expected to be published towards the end of the year.
