How Patients Can Be Involved In IC Awareness Month –

Every September, IC patients around the world unite to raise awareness about interstitial cystitis, bladder pain syndrome, hypersensitive bladder syndrome and chronic pelvic pain. All IC patients, support group leaders and national organizations are invited to participate! Your voice counts! Here’s how you can participate:

Spread the word through social networking

Write a few sentences or even a story about IC Awareness Month on your blog or “what’s on your mind statement.” Every day in September, share our IC Daily Fact from our website!

Get politically active

Encourage your local, regional and national politicians to pass a proclamation to honor IC Awareness Month. To make this easy for you, use the letter we’ve placed on the campaign website. Learn more here!

Send out our press release

Send our press release to your local and regional paper, asking if they would do a story about IC and IC Awareness Month. The press love personal, local stories. Share a few paragraphs about your life with IC in your community, as well as any obstacles you have faced with finding doctors, getting pain care and/or the public perception of bladder diseases.

Educate your doctors

Bring an IC Awareness Month poster (which you can print from our website) and our free IC Fact Sheets to each of your physicians and nursing staff to place in their offices and waiting rooms. Share the latest IC articles with your physicians. We have a variety of handouts on our website!

Make a donation

Make a donation directly to an IC research center. We support Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak Michigan for their cutting edge IC studies.

Mobilize your support group

If you’re in a support group, ask them to participate in IC Awareness Month. They should have a meeting in September and, if possible, send out our press release. You could do an activity, a bake sale, garage sale to raise money for research. You could organize a walk for awareness or approach a local TV station and ask for a story on IC. The sky is the limit. Dare to be bold! If there is no support group in your area, consider starting a new group to provide support and build friendships among patients who often feel very isolated and alone. If you need help, give us a call at: 1-800-928-7496!

2016 Medical Care Provider Of The Year Award!

Nominate Your Urologists, Urogynecologists and Physical Therapists!

Do you have a doctor or physical therapist who treats you wonderfully? Each year, we want to encourage and acknowledge clinical care providers who provide excellent care for IC and pelvic pain patients. This includes urologists, OB-GYNs, physical therapists, nutritionists, pain specialists and so forth. These are the medical care providers who:

  • listen to their patients
  • who take the time to answer questions
  • who explain treatment choices carefully and thoughtfully
  • who treat patients and family members with dignity and respect
  • who give their patients hope and encouragement

It’s about time that we publicly recognize those few medical professionals who really do treat IC patients with compassion and kindness!

How To Nominate

Click here to fill out our nomination form!

IC Awareness Month Contests

#1 – Poster Contest

Bring out your inner artist and create a poster for IC Awareness Month sharing your own interpretation of #lifewithic. Light or dark, floral or portrait, encouraging & hopeful or a message about how IC has changed your life, every patient poster tells an important story that helps spread the word about IC. We welcome all mediums, electronic or in print. All ages are welcome! All posters will be added to our websit!

Prizes:

  • The winner will receive an iPad or Kindle!
  • Runner’s ups will receive Amazon or ICN Gift Certificates.
  • Additional Prizes To Be Announced

Requirements:

  • It must say IC Awareness Month and include the URL: icawareness.org
  • It must fit on an 8.5 by 11″ piece of paper

Due Date:

Entries by September 30, 2016 to info@icawareness.org or can be mailed to: IC Awareness Month, 5636 Del Monte Court, Santa Rosa CA 95409

#2 – Meme Contest

Funny, irreverent, witty, bold and often ridiculous, meme’s make a statement. A funny or shocking meme can be shared thousands of times across the internet where they could inspire patients to actually google IC. Last year, we had dozens of funny, irreverent and powerful memes that truly made an impact. They were shared thousands of times across the internet and were a big part of our IC Awareness Month campaign.

How Can I Make A Meme?

Several websites offer free meme making services. You can pick your favorite picture, add text and then share it with your friends. Here are some services that we like!

Requirements

  • Required – It should say “Interstitial cystitis”or “IC”
  • Optional – It can say icawareness.org

Prizes

  • The will receive a Kindle Fire or Apple iPad (First Place)
  • $50 Amazon Gift Certificate
  • $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
  • Additional Prizes To Be Announced

How Can I Submit My Meme?

It’s very easy. Just share your meme on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and anywhere else you frequent.

#3 – Tweet Contest – Tweet Out Funny or Serious Moments About #lifewithic

If another person tells me to drink cranberry juice, I might scream! #lifewithic

New this year, we’re using Twitter to share the story of IC. When something happens, good or bad, funny or infuriating, we hope you’ll tweet it using the hashtag #lifewithic. We’ll be searching twitter for the right hashtags to determine the winner!

Samples:

  • Why’d I drink that coffee? My bladder is on fire! #lifewithic
  • Can Elmiron get anymore expensive? Wait. Don’t jinx it. #lifewithic
  • Another doctor who doesn’t believe that IC is painful. #lifewithic
  • (Just have fun with it but also share the real story of ife with IC)

Requirements

  • It must say #lifewithic
  • Optional – #icawareness or #icawarenessmonth if room

Prizes

  • The will receive a Kindle Fire or Apple iPad (First Place)
  • $50 Amazon Gift Certificate
  • $25 Amazon Gift Certificate