A Furzedown woman raised £5,777 in a fundraiser she organised for breast cancer awareness last week.
Anna Godsiff, from Furzedown, Tooting, organised the event whilst undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
The fundraiser was held in Furzy Paws puppy parlour on Friday and proved to be a success.
The community supported her with donations, prizes for the raffle and a silent auction.
Anna, 50, said: “I have amazing people supporting me and the whole community has got behind me.
“I held it in Furzedown because it is such a strong community that I feel so affiliated with.”
The Turning Furzy Pink fundraiser included cakes, face painting, henna tattoos, story-telling, a raffle full of pink goodies and a silent auction online.
Anna was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2020.
Despite COVID keeping her indoors, she felt she got all the support she needed through services offered by the NHS.
Breast Cancer Now offers a service called Someone Like Me which put Anna in contact with others experiencing similar situation.
It helped her understand the process of surgery and reconstruction.
Someone Like Me helped with her decision to undergo a mastectomy which removes breast tissue, and to undergo diep flap reconstruction surgery, which takes fat and skin from the lower belly and moves it to rebuild the chest.
The charity also held a ‘moving on from breast cancer’ course at St George’s hospital which Anna described as a special space.
It involved 12 women sitting together with a coach to talk about the process, their feelings and how to move on.
Anna said: “I have an amazing support network but there is that feeling they don’t fully understand.
“It was phenomenal talking with 12 others who understood.”
A charity named Hair Reborn was involved in the fundraiser and helped Anna’s recovery.
The charity, based in Wimbledon, was set up by Lina Milazzo and her husband Joe.
They set up the programme after Milazzo’s battle with breast cancer.
The couple trains salons to offer a three-step process to customers.
The process includes free consultations and haircuts to achieve a ‘reborn’ look, helping the women’s confidence.
Milazzo said: “It helped me move forward by helping my husband set it up, and it lets people with breast cancer have something to look forward to once their hair starts growing back.”
Another charity that took part and helped Anna on her journey is Headwrappers.
The charity helped with her confidence for her wedding.
Anna had been with now-husband Martin Philpsz for 18 years before getting married in February 2021, with their eight-year-old daughter Rosie as a bridesmaid.
She expressed that Karyn Kersley from Headwrappers helped her to style her hair for the wedding.
Anna said: “I had short patchy hair and she gave me a one-to-one tutorial of how to wrap my hair in different ways.”
She passed her target on her Just Giving page for the fundraiser before she held the event, with all donations going to Breast Cancer Now.
Anna encourages women to regularly check their breasts.
She said: “Don’t be afraid to get them checked out, don’t bury your head in the sand, face it!”
Donations are being accepted on her page until the October 31: https://t.co/AAVcf9Nj9j
Visit Hair Reborn: https://www.hairreborn.uk
Visit Headwrappers: https://www.headwrappers.org
