OVdialogue – consider joining our team in the role of Community Champion. 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).
Stay tuned for more details, and feel free to share your thoughts below. Let’s make this community even stronger!
Another Community Champion . . . I've got you!
My journey with OC started almost 32 years ago when my youngest child was 6 months old. Back then, we knew so little about OC and I was told to "get my life in order". The fatality rate was so high. I was determined not to leave this baby or my other 3 children to grow up without a mother. I know my determination had something to do with it but I also know that I was one of the lucky ones, that small percentage that caught it early enough and survived (because my tumour was very large).
There were no supports for me or my family back then other than an amazing Oncologist. There was nobody to ask questions or tell me what to expect from each step away from my surgery into living with OC. Looking back, it was like I was in a fog with little knowledge of how to proceed. It was ironic that I was a teacher, lifelong learner, and school administrator but I didn't know how one was suppose to move forward and LIVE with OC.
I have focused on raising 4 great kids that have given me 3 grandchildren so far with one on the way any day now. As each diagnosis of other conditions arose, practitioners nodded and said it was probably due to the radical surgery I encountered as a 30-year-old. I plowed forward and tried to ignore the repercussions of cheating death. All the while, I wished there had been a group of women who could have held my hand, explained stages and interpreted diagnoses and prognoses or simply chatted about this rotten disease.
Today, it is time for me to be that support person. It is time for me to hold hands, explain stages from current medical thoughts, and simply chat about experiences that others are trying to make sense of. We are teal sisters who will be always bound together in the fight of our lives!
Hope this helps paint a picture of the road I have taken thus far. Looking forward to being a supportive person in your life!
Monica
Comments
-
Thank you @Monica for sharing your story. You will undoubtably be a source of much wisdom and support for us Teal Sisters.
Always learning
1
