Serving over 55,000 members, PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association is the leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit patient support and advocacy organization globally that is advancing the cause for women and girls with PCOS.

    

Our Vision:
Our vision is that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is treated as a public health priority. PCOS is one of the most critical, under-diagnosed, underfunded and neglected areas of health. There is a huge disparity when it comes to PCOS diagnosis, support and research. It is estimated that 50-75 percent of women with PCOS are going undiagnosed¹. Additionally, it often takes people two years and up to three doctors before getting a diagnosis and finding adequate help for the condition². Despite affecting millions of lives and families and the serious health consequences, PCOS awareness and support organizations receive less than 0.1 percent of the government, corporate, foundation and community funding that other major health conditions receive. Additionally, PCOS research funding receives less than 0.1 percent of the NIH research budget, which is stifling advancements^3,4.

Our Mission:
Raise public awareness about PCOS and help people with the condition overcome their symptoms and reduce their risk for life-threatening related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

PCOS Challenge Provides Support for Women with PCOS Through:

• PCOS Challenge Nonprofit Organization Web Site – PCOSChallenge.org
• PCOS Challenge Online Support Network – PCOSChallenge.com
• PCOS Challenge Events
• PCOS Grants
• PCOS Challenge television show
• PCOS Challenge radio show
• PCOS Challenge® Expert Series – PCOSChallenge.net
• Local area support groups
• Health screenings

Because of individuals like you, we now touch the lives of tens-of-thousands of women with PCOS and their supporters each year through cable television and radio programming, online and offline support groups, grants, research, education, awareness and advocacy initiatives. Since our beginning, we’ve helped many women find answers that helped them overcome their struggles with infertility, weight gain, anxiety and depression and reduce their risk for life-threatening related conditions.

Please Donate to PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association
When you make a donation or become a Hope for PCOS monthly giver, you can take comfort in knowing that your regular contributions are constantly working, day in and day out, to improve the lives of women with PCOS through:

• Vital online and community programs
• National educational and awareness initiatives
• Cable television and radio programming reaching millions of households

Your contribution has a direct impact on the lives of women with PCOS.

If you have questions about PCOS Challenge, Inc. programs and ways that you can support our efforts, please contact us.

Important Facts and Research Regarding PCOS PCOS is a complex hormonal, metabolic and reproductive disorder that affects up to 15% of women in the United States. PCOS is a leading cause of infertility in women. Women with PCOS constitute the largest group of women at risk for developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50% of women with PCOS will become diabetic or prediabetic before age 40. Some studies have shown women with PCOS to be at three times higher risk for endometrial cancer, two times higher risk for ovarian cancer, and two to four times higher risk for breast cancer. Some studies have shown due to symptoms of anxiety and depression, suicide attempts are up to seven times more common in women with PCOS than other women. Pre-teens and teens can develop PCOS. Earlier diagnosis can give them the opportunity to better manage the emotional, internal and physical effects of PCOS. It can also help them prevent the onset of more serious illnesses related to PCOS. Despite affecting millions of women and the serious health consequences, PCOS is unknown to most people and a staggering 50% of the women living with PCOS are going undiagnosed.

Sources: https://pcoschallenge.org/sources

Meet the PCOS Challenge Executive Director

Since its programs started in 2009, PCOS Challenge has quickly grown to over 52,000 members and has helped many women overcome their struggles with infertility, weight gain, anxiety and depression and reduce their risk for numerous life-threatening related diseases. PCOS Challenge is innovative in its multimedia approach to support. It produces the national award winning cable television show PCOS Challenge, a health series which follows ten women with polycystic ovary syndrome as they have their lives transformed by naturopathic and allopathic medical experts and coaches. Its website, PCOSChallenge.com has been called the “Facebook for women with PCOS” by its members, and its popular PCOS Challenge radio show features internationally recognized PCOS experts, New York Times best-selling authors and real life stories from women with PCOS. The organization also provides offline support networks, webinars and other resources and has developed one of the world’s largest multimedia bodies of educational content dedicated to PCOS.

As Executive Director of PCOS Challenge, Sasha built a coalition of over 70 major national and international health organizations and led the first successful legislative advocacy effort in the U.S. Congress to recognize the seriousness of PCOS, the need for further research, improved treatment and care options, and for a cure for PCOS and to designate September as PCOS Awareness Month. Sasha also created the PCOS Awareness Symposium, the largest event globally dedicated to polycystic ovary syndrome, which has educated thousands of patients and healthcare professionals about PCOS since 2013. In 2018, Sasha helped organize the first International Conference on PCOS in India for both patients and healthcare providers.

Sasha is a Clinical and Research Microbiologist with a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from Howard University and a Master’s in Health Administration from the University of Phoenix. Prior to founding PCOS Challenge, Sasha was a contract research microbiologist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).