Feature Stories
Learn about new initiatives underway to overcome ovarian cancer and meet people who are committed to making a difference.
Stories found here are from Seeds of Hope, the monthly e‑newsletter.
Genetic testing has been a hot topic in the news lately. People are starting to use genetic test information to chart the course for disease prevention with their health care professionals. For women with ovarian cancer, and their family members, the subject is of particular importance.
Because of your support, the impact of life changing initiatives was amplified in 2017. Last year, you banded together to call attention to this disease throughout Parliament and locally. In the midst of ensuring your voice was heard, you ushered in a new way for women with ovarian cancer to share information and insights with one another.
“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