Add your voice to World Ovarian Cancer Day - May 8
April 23, 2014
Help build One voice for every woman in the fight against ovarian cancer! On May 8, join Ovarian Cancer Canada, our 54 global partner organizations from over 22 countries and thousands of people worldwide for the second annual World Ovarian Cancer Day. Be part of the movement to spread awareness about the most serious gynecologic cancer – a disease that claims the lives of 140,000 women around the world each year.
The number-one objective of WOCD is to increase awareness of ovarian cancer and connect people worldwide with risk and symptom information.
What can you do?
Taking a lead role
Teal nails in Dublin last year,
for the inaugural WOCD.
Ovarian Cancer Canada is proud to be taking a lead role in this international event as our CEO Elisabeth Baugh chairs the WOCD committee for the second year.
“Realizing a World Ovarian Cancer Day is remarkable. Uniting organizations around the globe with a focused message in support of the fight against ovarian cancer will get the attention of the media and individuals we need,” says Elisabeth. “Look at the breast cancer movement over the last 15 years. See what they have accomplished – it is our time now.”
Regional activities galore!
Below is just a selection of the many WOCD activities being planned across Canada. Check our regional webpages often leading up to May 8 as they are being updated regularly. Contact your regional office to get involved.
Cities across the country are signing proclamations declaring May 8 World Ovarian Cancer Day. Landmarks including BC Place in Vancouver; City Hall in London, Ontario; the atrium at the London Regional Cancer Centre; and Toronto’s CN Tower will be awash in teal light the evening of May 8. Stay tuned for news on others!
Volunteers in the nation’s capital will walk from Parliament Hill to Ottawa City Hall handing out WOCD buttons and ovarian cancer information. A WOCD flag raising ceremony will be held with the mayor and guests, followed by an outdoor reception.
Early morning commuters at six Toronto subway stations will be greeted by Ovarian Cancer Canada staff and volunteers handing out WOCD buttons and ovarian cancer information. Volunteers will then attend a breakfast at the Ovarian Cancer Canada office. Also look for our WOCD team at downtown Vancouver public transit/commuter locations, and in downtown Calgary and Edmonton too.
Spring Garden Road in Halifax – Atlantic Canada’s busiest street – will be “painted teal” with businesses featuring teal in their window displays, ovarian cancer flyers at the checkout counters and staff wearing teal. There will be WOCD cookies, and volunteers will be handing out information. Excellent media support is in the works too.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is a great place to be on May 8. Visit our tents on the North Plaza with Ovarian Cancer Canada staff and volunteers on hand to spread the word about WOCD, the May 28 Vancouver LOVE HER, the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope and more. Radio station 104.9 The Shore will there to play music for the day. You can also contact the Pacific Regional Office to get your Teal Tea kit (tea courtesy of David’s Tea) and host your own WOCD event!
Ovarian cancer awareness, information and education sessions will be held in a number of communities around the country. In Winnipeg, a lunchtime Knowledge is Power education session is set to take place at Union Centre. In Barrie, Ontario, a WOCD dinner and Knowledge is Power event will take place at C.W. Coop’s Ribs, Wings & Things. And in Windsor, Ontario, the public is invited to have dinner at the Walker Road Boston Pizza, where Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope “celebrity servers” will be on hand helping to serve customers and distributing WOCD information – with a portion of the evening’s proceeds going to the Walk.
Organizations within and beyond the cancer field are joining the WOCD movement by holding awareness events with their staff. We are also encouraging organizations to spread the word via social media. For example, the BC Human Resources Management Association (HRMA) will tweet a WOCD e-card to all 5,500+ members across the province. If you have an idea to expand this type of effort, contact your Ovarian Cancer Canada regional office.
Ovarian cancer: a global snapshot
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WOCD: One voice for every woman
around the globe.
Each year, nearly a quarter of a million women around the world are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Statistics show that just 45% of women with ovarian cancer are likely to survive for five years compared with 89% of women with breast cancer. Women in developed and developing countries are similarly affected by ovarian cancer.
Approximately 15% of cases of ovarian cancer are due to family history. This means having a close blood relation (mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, granddaughter, aunt or niece) on either your mother’s or your father’s side of the family who has had breast cancer before the age of 50 or ovarian cancer at any age. In addition to sharing symptom and risk information, WOCD will also focus on prevention of ovarian cancer.
“For women living with this disease and their families and friends, World Ovarian Cancer Day has tremendous meaning,” says Elisabeth Baugh. “Through this important day, we will continue to build momentum and a sense of solidarity in the fight against ovarian cancer. Every woman is at some risk for ovarian cancer and awareness remains our best defence.”