Ulcerative Colitis awareness.

I find telling people about my illness sometimes frustrating, sometimes embarrassing but most of all I feel deflated that nobody has heard about Ulcerative colitis!

I am often asked 'what's wrong?' to which I reply 'I have Ulcerative Colitis' then comes a puzzled look and 'aww bless you' so I find it amusing to put them on the spot and question them 'You have no idea what that is do you?' and the response I get every single time is 'Nope!'.
I ask 'Have you heard of Crohn's Disease?' to which I regularly get 'yes I've heard of that one' which I must say knocks the wind out of my sails a little.

I usually spend a few minutes covering the very vague basics of the illness and am surprised to learn that many have heard of or know someone who suffers from either Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's Disease, except it is not discussed.
Although there are days when I simply can't find the effort/strength to explain.

I know; I know it is embarrassing to discuss Inflammatory Bowel Disease but the more we can talk about it, the more awareness and the more effort that will go into finding a cure!

Please help those, suffering every single day by raising awareness.