Community Connection: Ovarian Cancer Canada is looking for volunteers! Could you help?
OVdialogue – consider joining our team in the role of Peer Support Volunteer. Over a few hours each week, you would be part of a team that helps connect people, support conversations and are thought leaders for OVdialogue. This is your opportunity to give back to those who have/continue to support you through the tough times, share your unique experiences, and help celebrate successes. For more details of what this entails, please reach out to @Mfallis (mfallis@ovariancanada.org).
OVdialogue – consider joining our team in the role of Peer Support Volunteer. Over a few hours each week, you would be part of a team that helps connect people, support conversations and are thought leaders for OVdialogue. This is your opportunity to give back to those who have/continue to support you through the tough times, share your unique experiences, and help celebrate successes. For more details of what this entails, please reach out to @Mfallis (mfallis@ovariancanada.org).
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Some good news for those of us in Ontario. Apparently they're announcing a reopening plan today...well ahead of the June 2 end of lock down. Hope it's all good news. Our numbers have been dropping, mostly attributed to the increasing numbers being vaccinated. Gosh, it will be nice to get to some level of normalcy again...although hope we don't all get too complacent and fall back into bad behaviours. Still a way to go to eradicate this virus if we're ever able to truly do that.1
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Hello ladies
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Yes, @Sylviequebecbc keep your eyes on OCC communications on that front. They're great at keeping us updated.
Hi @CountryLiving. Hope all is well.
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Yes all is well withme. Love this weather. Bought some annuals and potted flowers and looking forward to getting them in my garden. Nothing like getting your hands in the earth to feel calm and then looking forward to seeing things grow.0
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@Taita hi. Glad to have you with us. Still working on the move or done yet? And how did your treatment go...I believe last week?0
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Gals, before we end today's call some good news and sort of bad news. I'm really pleased to say that Annie1950 has joined our volunteer team of OVdialogue Community Champions. She's from the Greater Toronto Area and will be a real asset to our members there, as well as all of our members. She was hoping to join our chat today but unfortunately is hospitalized with an obstruction. She seems upbeat and hopeful she'll be fixed up and out in a day or so but in the meantime, let's send positive thoughts to her for a quick and easy recovery.1
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@Fearless - Vol Mod. Still packing. Move is June 8th so still some time but in a constant state of “should I keep it or should I donate it”. Luckily the latter us winning 😁. Treatment was a week ago last Monday and while I am good I am not feeling as energetic as usual. Out of breath a bit and had some red and swollen hands fir the fist time. Red is gone but swelling is persistent. So all in all not bad. I assume like any other treatment things come and go and in some cases cumulative. Thanks for asking! Scan on the 31st 🤞0
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@Fearless - Vol Mod thanks for sharing this. Lots of live and positive energy for Annie 1950.
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Send her my welcome! and hopefully her hospitalization is just a little setback. Sending her good thoughts.1
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Meant love...0
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Speedy recovery to Annie and an awesome weekend to everyone!1
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Have a great weekend everyone!0
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@Taita It sounds like pretty normal side effects...especially the fatigue. Thankful that its all tolerable. Good luck with your scan on the 31st. I had my scan report on Tuesday and happy to hear the two tumors have shrunk about 50% at the end of 6 cycles, so they are quite small now. But my oncologist thinks she can get an even better response by adding in more cycles so on Wednesday I'm back at it...cycle 7 and then 8, scan again and depending on what she sees could be a cycle 9 before I'm done. I sure don't look forward to it but I'll do whatever it takes to wrestle this monster to the ground once again.
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@Fearless - Vol Mod Such great news! Congratulations. We all love to hear the good news stories. They are inspiring. Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!0
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I'll pass on everyone's good wishes to Anne.
Now, everyone go out and enjoy this wonderful weather...and, Sylviequebecbc, the pup.
"See" all of you next week....in the meantime, big hugs to all. 0 -
Enjoy the weather this long weekend ladies.0
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@""Fearless - Vol Mod"
Thanks for your never ending support ladies. My issue is resolved, thank heavens and I'm feeling great. Toronto General was so full that the only option for me was a ward with three men as my roomies. It felt a little strange but only when I started to feel better.
A big shout out to our health care workers and the enormous amount of stress they're going through. Their efforts were non stop.
I feel part of a strong, knowledgeable and supportive community belonging to this group and I know my appreciation is echoed throughout the site by all of us. Thank-you:)1 -
And now May is almost over....sheesh, could the world slow down a wee bit ! Yes, ladies it's THURSDAY MAY 27 and time for another live chat if anyone is up to joining me today....another wonderful blue sky, warm day where I am.
Love to know if anyone attended any of the new Teal Teas this week and if so, how you found the experience.
Great to have that good news from Annie1950, our newest Community Champion.....it's never nice to have to be hospitalized but wonderful she was in and out in no time.....like Anne, I can't say enough about the support we get from our medical teams. Not so much sharing a ward with three men (LOL) but in the bigger scheme of things and pressure on the hospitals for capacity, just getting a room is an accomplishment I guess. Chemo for me yesterday.....the all day effort but they made it so easy-peasy for me as usual. And so nice to see the numbers on Covid vaccinations going up while overall hospitalizations seem to be going down in BC, AB, Que, and ON.
So, my friends, if anyone is out there and feels like chatting about anything on your mind today the floor is open........
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Good afternoon ladies:) Thank you so much for the support I received during my recent hospitalization. I will now pay strict attention to my diet so that this bowel obstruction of mine doesn't create more havoc. It was caused by scar tissue from last year's surgery but considering my options at the time I'm okay with that. It's so good to be home and in my own bed.
I kept reminding myself when I was sharing a medical oncology ward with three male roomies (all with tracheotomies) how lucky I was. Each and everyone of us has to count our blessings large and small. Sometimes it's hard though.1 -
Good afternoon ladies. Bit cooler here today so I am doing chores inside that I have put off for awhile. Glad to be here now with you. @Fearless - Vol Mod how are you feeling today one day after chemo?
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@Fearless - Vol Mod Hope you're almost finished your chemo treatment and that all is well. I'm sure you're looking forward to that day.0
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Hi @Annie1950
So glad you're recovering and the cause of the blockage is known and manageable. I've got a hernia just above my navel and significant adhesions all through my abdomen, much of which are attached to my colon, so I live in terror of getting an obstruction. But so far so good and despite the fact I really don't take care of my eating habits as well as I should.1 -
Good morning @Fearless - Vol Mod! Sunny and warmish here in Kimberley BC, and yes, I did attend a teal tea time this week, and I really loved it! So nice to see and talk to other women , we shared resources we used in the past that helped us. Will join again in the future!
I want to get pamphlets and or posters from ovdialogue and Ovarian Cancer Canada to take to the oncology department at my local hospital, and other places in my town, who should I connect with?
So happy to hear that Annie is doing better!
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@Sylviequebecbc how many ladies are in the tea, and are they from all over Canada or are they from the same province? Who leads the tea?0
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Thanks ladies. Feeling ok from yesterday's chemo. 2 hours of desensitizing drugs, 2 hours of Cisplatin and a half hour of Gemcitabine makes for a long day. Thankful for having a chest port to make it all easier and thankful I'm tolerating the new Cisplatin regime My scan showed a significant decrease in the tumors after the 6 cycles but my oncologist thinks she can improve on that with a few more rounds so yesterday was Day 1 of Cycle 7, next Wednesday Day 8 (just a half hour of Gem), then two weeks off and into Cycle 8. At the end of that she'll decide if she wants a final Cycle 9 or I'm done for now. I vote for whatever it takes to stall my next recurrence. Fortunately I'm still tolerating the chemo fairly well so really just tired today and a bit lightheaded.0
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If this helps: I also had constipation during my chemo, specially due to post op adhesions also. I now eat a grouded seeds porridge almost every morning with fresh Berries, and my bowels have been moving so well! I will take a picture and post it.
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@sylviequebecbc Good afternoon from sunny Ontario and thanks for the well wishes:)
I'd love to get some pamphlets/posters as well to take to Princess Margaret.
We're fortunate to have found this site and the support it provides. My heart goes out to those ladies who don't have the support we do. I can't imagine how difficult it would be when English/French is a second language. I'm sure many of them feel very isolated and terrified of what's to become of them.0 -
@Sylviequebecbc
Great thought Sylvie. Actually Annie1950 is wanting to do something similar for PMH in Toronto so I spoke to Tracy Kolwich and she thinks they might have some templates or even brochures you could leverage but they might also be somewhat out of date. To you both, reach out to her directly and she can let you know if she can supply something of use. @TracyOCC or tkolwich@ovariancanada.org
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