If your pink bits were a wine, I have to imagine they’d be rosé. And if they had a soundtrack it would no doubt be Funhouse by P!nk. And if they were a month of the year, they’d definitely be October. In fact, it’s fair to say October is now officially the pinkest month on the calendar.
These are the kinds of things Zoe Marshall and I discuss on our Girls’ Night In. Among other important things, obviously, like what would you name your pet unicorn? I go for Pickles Stardust Esquire, while Zoe goes for the much more succinct ‘Zoe’. Touché.
We’re doing all of this for a reason, of course. Namely, because every single day in Australia around 50 women are diagnosed with breast or a gynaecological cancer. And to be frank… that is simply not acceptable.
Zoe and her co-cost Katie ‘Monty’ Dimond from the KIIS National Network’s 3PM Pick Up are ambassadors for this year’s Cancer Council Girls’ Night In so they’re waving the flag to make sure the Pink Ribbon campaign hits its $7million target for 2015. It’s not just a case of radio hosts meet charity via some kind of professional Tindering service though – Zoe’s heart is well and truly in this one for reals.
“My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer at 52 and passed at 54, so it was very fast. I was 22 at the time,” she says. “And I know everyone says their mum’s their best friend but she really was… we were literally all each other had. When I was little I used to tell her I wouldn’t know how to survive in the world without her so when that become a reality for me, it was the hardest time in my life.”
Now, Zoe is super-hero vigilant on keeping up with her own wellbeing. “For the first time in my life I was really responsibly for myself and my own health so I went and got checked and there was some abnormal tissue. And I went back six months later and it was still abnormal. So then I got an MRI for peace of mind and also wanted to go down the route of doing genetic testing. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach the criteria to be able to test for the gene, but I did as much as I could do. So now I go yearly and get my breasts checked and do pap smears regularly as well.”
The moral of this story is that there’s still a lot of work to do and Zoe and I would very much like you to throw your own Girls’ Night In during October to help raise much-needed funds. You too could involve yourselves in such heavy-duty discussions as burgers or burritos? Cats or dogs? Zoe and I agree – burgers and dogs, duh.
One word of warning though – if you decide to go with the classic, “Who (dead or alive) would you like to have to dinner?” just make sure you don’t answer at the same time. When I screamed “You!” as Zoe simultaneously yelled, “Marilyn Monroe!” things got a little awkward. But then… that’s what the champagne is for.
Visit Girls Night In or call 1300 656 565 to get the ball rolling on your own Girls’ Night In.
Zoe and Katie ‘Monty’ Dimond, who host 3PM Pick Up on the KIIS National Network, are ambassadors for Cancer Council’s Girls’ Night In.
