"I broke down": Emma Watkins opens up on emotional meaning behind latest outfit
<p dir="ltr">While spotting celebrities in gorgeous gowns isn’t unusual, Emma Watkins’ latest appearance in a pink and gold dress has more meaning than it seems.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The former yellow Wiggle revealed that the frock was designed with a particular person in mind, which she wore as an ambassador for Frocktober.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"The dress that I'm wearing isn't just a pretty dress. [It was] actually created by a beautiful designer, Jaimie Sortino, and it's in honour of his cousin Jenna that passed away,” she told <em>9Honey</em>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jenna Crierie was 33 and eleven years into her battle with ovarian cancer, the most lethal gynaecological cancer, when she passed away.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I never actually had a chance to meet her, but I've met Jaimie a few times, that's why those pictures and the dress are quite special," Watkins said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"It really is another reminder of the lives that we've lost due to this disease… even though half of us didn't actually get to meet her, it felt like she was there."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Endometriosis, a condition which affects one in nine Australian women including Watkins, is among the known risk factors for ovarian cancer, though there are no early detection tests.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Watkins recalled how she was brought to tears when she met Leanne Flynn, one of millions of women who had ovarian cancer that was caught too late, for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation’s Frocktober campaign.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"She was telling her story about what she's been going through for the last five years, the multiple surgeries and tests. I basically just cried," Watkins said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I broke down in front of the audience, I wasn't expecting to hear such a poignant and connected story to do with the disease itself. Ever since then, I've been highly involved."</p>
<p dir="ltr">As a Frocktober ambassador this year, Watkins is fighting to ensure that experiences like Crierie’s and Flynn’s are no longer as common.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Even pap smears can’t catch ovarian cancer early, which the 33-year-old said said frustrated her.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"That's why it's frustrating, because normally women don't get to pick this up early on. That's the issue," she continued.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"When I found that something wasn't right with me, I was already stage four endometriosis. And the same thing with Flynn, you're just too far along."</p>
<p dir="ltr">With vague symptoms - think abdominal and pelvic pain, boating, appetite loss, unexplained weight changes and tiredness - and nowhere near the same publicity as diseases such as breast cancer, it can be hard for women to find out before it’s too late.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"I think women should be more cautious," Watkins said. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"Even for endometriosis, that wouldn't have been picked up with a pap smear."</p>
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<p dir="ltr">While it might be too late for women who have been diagnosed with late stage cancer, Watkins hopes that campaigns like Frocktober can spark change in the years to come.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: @emmawatkinsofficial (Instagram)</em></p>
