“When you find out you have ovarian cancer, you get to thinking about all the ‘what ifs.’ What if I had gone to the doctor earlier? What if I had been more emphatic when I knew something was wrong?” says Barb Vervaeke who was diagnosed with Stage 3C ovarian cancer. “My first year, when the holidays rolled around, I sat waiting for the other shoe to drop, just reeling.”
Look at the ladyballs on her
The community’s strength in numbers is growing as more women with ovarian cancer are connecting online and confronting the disease with support from others who have been there. To do this, they are joining OVdialogue, a new online community where people who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer can get to know one another, exchange insights and share their stories.
Women with ovarian cancer are connecting online and confronting the disease alongside others who have been there. One of the ways they are finding each other is through OVdialogue, a moderated online discussion board where they can ask questions and post responses, exchanging information directly with peers who have experienced the disease.
Earlier this month, people in more than 35 communities set out to walk to raise funds and awareness. The Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope is where the community affected by this disease finds common ground. It’s where concerned Canadians come together to take action, a time to mark milestones and band together in support of improved outcomes for generations to come.
Women with ovarian cancer are talking on OVdialogue, a new online community introduced earlier this month at the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope. Nearly a year in the making, OVdialogue enables women confronting the disease to connect with one another for advice and encouragement.
Even as August gives way to the dog days of summer, the community surrounding this important cause is ramping up efforts. Presently, volunteers and committees throughout the country are preparing for September, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
Meet Houda, recipient of the 2017 Peggy Truscott Award of Hope
When Dr. Jim Petrik read about a new support group starting in his town, he reached out to the organizer immediately to commend her efforts in bringing people together. That was when he first connected with Frances Vanover, a woman living with ovarian cancer. After years of keeping in touch, they met in person and hatched a plan to bring about the first Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope in Guelph.
When Elly Mayday began modelling at age 23, she used her career as a platform for promoting body positivity; even before the idea was embraced by popular culture. She blazed a trail, inspiring women to love themselves just as they are.
It’s been almost two years since Yaya Jean learned she had ovarian cancer. Her family felt helpless under the weight of her diagnosis.
Last year, sisters Wendy Sutherland and Joanne Gasper received the Peggy Truscott Award at the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope in their city of Regina, Saskatchewan.
A group of advocates is heading to Ottawa to demand that more be done about ovarian cancer in Canada. Stand with them. You can participate right now, from wherever you are.
Two major organizations in the charitable sector, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, recently announced their official merger.
When she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sue Deacon left no stone unturned as she searched for more information and the latest clinical trials. Her mother had passed away from the same disease and Sue wondered if her own diagnosis was the result of a hereditary predisposition.
After being diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer, many women worry the disease will return. In fact, studies show that more than 70% of cancer survivors experience fear of recurrence.
Studies show that when surgery for ovarian cancer is performed by a gynecologic oncologist, outcomes are significantly improved. This is among many reasons Ovarian Cancer Canada has a longstanding partnership with the Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada (GOC), an organization that convenes gynecologic oncologists and other healthcare professionals involved in gynecological cancer care and management.
Around this time of year, members of Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden’s research team start thinking about teal ties and tutus as they look forward to the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope.