A woman who police say faked cancer and pocketed the money raised by supporters appeared in court today looking thin and frail.

It is a bizarre story that has attracted international attention.

Ashley Anne Kirilow, of Burlington, Ont., had apparently shaved her head and eyebrows in an attempt to make it look like she was undergoing chemotherapy, but CTV's John Musselman reports she appeared in a Milton courthouse Monday morning wearing a long beige dress and with short hair.

Kirilow, 23, was ordered to return to court on Wednesday for a bail hearing. She spoke to the judge in a tone barely above a whisper to say her name.

While no family members appeared to be present at the hearing, some of the people who supported her earlier described their disappointment outside the courthouse.

"We were friends. I just want to know why she felt she had to lie," said Meredith De Jong.

"Our conversations weren't just about cancer they were about other things in life, so, I understand maybe the lie got the best of her, but maybe if she would have trusted in the friendships that she had this all could have been put to rest a long time ago and not been such a big deal."

Jackie Musial was less understanding and hoped Ashley had seen her in attendance.

"When we went and sat down and she came out we were sort of discussing whether or not we even wanted her to see us," she said.

"But when she sort of glanced across the room, I don't know, I hope that she saw me at that point."

Ashley's father, Mike, had vowed he would not support his daughter after she allegedly won the sympathy of hundreds who rallied behind "Change" For A Cure on a false premise.

Responding to reports about his daughter's incarceration, Mike Kirilow said Sunday he was ashamed that his daughter would fake a terminal illness.

"Hopefully she will pay," Mike Kirilow said in an interview during which his face was hidden.

"You're ashamed," he said. "This is your child."

Ashley's father said he had long suspected the local hospital had no record of his daughter's supposed cancer treatment and reported the alleged fraud to police.

"I didn't call her on the cancer until April of this past year," he said. "She claimed to me that she did it in order to hurt myself and her mother."

Kirilow's parents divorced when she was young, but her father insists she grew up surrounded by loving siblings before moving out on her own five years ago.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Kirilow said she was just "trying to be noticed."

"I didn't want to feel like I'm nothing anymore. It went wrong. It spread like crazy," she told the paper.

Trouble for charities?

Meanwhile, charities hope that the story won't erode the public's trust in groups that do real work in the community.

"Legitimate charities need the support of caring Canadians who want to make the lot better of those people, and the communities it is serving," said Mary Lye, from the Childhood Cancer Foundation.

She told CTV's Natalie Johnson that she began working for the group after her own daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at the tender age of 15.

Concern about the Kirilow's story was also expressed by Marcel Lauziere, who is CEO of Imagine Canada, an umbrella group for Canadian charities.

"This kind of story unfortunately hurts all of the charities that are working across the country and in every community," he said, adding that tiny charities in addition to larger ones could suffer from the public fallout of the case.