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).

Teal Tuesdays - Live Online Chat! (Discontinued indefinitely)

13739414243

Comments

  • Hi @Flowergirl! Sending you positive energy and strong good vibes as you deal with your treatment issues. You’ve got this! 
  • Hi @Flowergirl..hope your feeling better and whatevers going sideways in your treatment..hope it gets sorted...
  • Hey @nadiaC...did you have another treatment or is that coming up
  • I I everyone..just wondering how thursday afternoons are going?  Too hard for me to check in as I'm working...seems to get in the way alot😊
  • Hi @Bluebird my third treatment is today. Wish me luck :) 
  • @bluebird the Teal Thursday is going quite well.  Sorry you aren't able to join in but you can always follow the discussion the next day and always welcome to comment then if there's something you'd like to share.  We have a special topic this Thursday....Recurrence Symptoms.  Many of the gals have expressed confusion over what it is they should be looking for given many were pretty well asymptomatic the first time.  Hoping some of gals who have recurred have some insights to share that might be helpful. @nadiaC Good luck today.  You're in our thoughts.
  • CountryLiving
    CountryLiving Peer Support Vol
    Hello @cbot..how are you this evening? The Raptors game recently finished.

  • Hi Everyone
    I am having issues, I am taking Caelex and it has given me a very painful rash at the base of my stoma.  They want to delay my chemo if the rash hasn't gone by Thursday but I don't want any delays, I only have two more treatments to go. I am sure the rash won't go away so I am just going to tough it out.  Hope Im doing the right thing.
  • Hello everyone.  It has been a rough week.  Chemo #4 is in the books.  Soooooo fatigued.......  hard to stay awake!  I am trying to get moving!  Went for 2 short walks today.... I guess it's a start!  Hope everyone is coping well.
  • Have hockey on here but not really watching; just finished processing beans for the freezer. A rather off day today; not feeling the greatest. Hoping that doesn't mean things are getting active again. Just finished my chemo on Aug. 4. I see the oncologist on Sept. 15 and will be starting my maintenance treatment soon after I expect. Will be taking Olaparib (Lynparza) so have been checking to make sure that cost is covered; would be huge if we had to absorb that. I'm not 65 yet but can get covered by the Ontario Drug Benefit Program because I'm part of a Palliative Care Outreach Team and have regular visits from a home care nurse through the Southwest LHIN. Drug access facilitator at the cancer clinic in London also suggested I apply to the Trillium Fund, just in case. Not usually on at this time. Doesn't appear that too many are here this evening.
  • CountryLiving
    CountryLiving Peer Support Vol
    @kattie666 and @love2run sorry you are having tough weeks. Yes chemo is hard but we are stronger! Hang in there..when fatigue hits just sit down or lie down. It too will pass in a day or so. 
  • Signing off for now. My hubby will soon be in from the barn. Take care everyone!

  • CountryLiving
    CountryLiving Peer Support Vol
    Hi @Shortone. Maybe it is the full moon...i too am off a bit today. Can you tell me more about the Outreach Team you are part of?

  • @CountryLiving I was assigned to the team at diagnosis back in September 2018 as my prognosis then was not good: Stage IV high grade serous. I wasn't expected to see Christmas that year. I had frequent home visits from nurses with Care Partners (SWLHIN) and continue to receive regular visits, albeit not as frequent. The first chemo treatments were effective in knocking the cancer back (it had already spread to my liver and abdomen by the time I was diagnosed) and I was on a maintenance drug--Bevacizamab--until my CA 125 marker started climbing again and tumours showed renewed activity. I restarted chemo in March and will be starting the maintenance drug this month, I expect. The palliative home outreach team is there for support and home nursing care because of the terminal diagnosis. I'm a bit fuzzy on all of the details as I was extremely ill by the time I was diagnosed and started treatment and don't recall all of those details. As long as I am receiving nursing care at home, I am eligible for coverage by the Ontario Drug Benefit Program. Not sure if that helps you at all.
  • Hi everyone,
    I'm so sorry to have missed you all earlier - glad you are able to still connect with each other.
    Seems a few of us are having quite the concerns lately.
    I am in rough shape -recovery from procedures - so I'm trying hard to just rest - lots of sleeping.
    I am hoping to post again soon - thank you all for your kind thoughts
  • @Flowergirl..look after yourself ..well send you all the positivity and ❤your way...hope you start feeling better
  • Hi @nadiaC..sorry didn't get back to you for your 3rd treatment but know I was thinking about you and hoping  your treatment went well and hoping your feeling ok....did you kick some butt!!!  Send it sideways!!  
  • @love2run and @kattie666 hope things stop going sideways for you ...it sounds like theres lots going on for lots this week...stay strong...be kind to yourself...this is a tough road..most wouldn't take..
  • Hi everyone! Catching up on your posts this morning. Sorry to hear about the bumps and slumps. I’m sending you encouragement and support as you weather this period. I had chemo 3 last Wednesday. It was a slog, with loads of fatigue, tingling in my hands and feet that I haven’t had before, lightheadedness. But my mind is my biggest struggle right now. I am trying to be focused on the present, not
    something I’m good at but hoping to develop this skill through practice. Sending positivity and love your way from Montreal, where Fall weather has officially started. 
  • hello everyone
  • CountryLiving
    CountryLiving Peer Support Vol
    Hello @Flowergirl
  • Trying to catch up on the chat -so grateful for all your support and this forum
    Due to Covid and dwindling numbers - opportunities to meet up - our in person support group has ceased
    Gosh, sometimes you really do need that in person for the emotion, facial expressions and explanations/sharing of details, so sad, yet expected. Perhaps one day, it will be established again. And for any of you looking for that type of support, you just need one other person, so do seek out the support you need. I am grateful for a couple of the ladies that we are still in touch with via email, phone and t ext for now... the odd outdoor visit when we can.
  • Hello everyone.... hope everyone is hanging in....  
  • Hi @kattie666 and @CountryLiving - yes, just barely hanging in... how is everyone else?
  • Hello @Flowergirl and everyone...good to see you on the chat again..hope you are feeling better...I find that our support is necessary more than ever.  COVID knocked our in person group meetings to zoom..and now we have lost our facilitator so I'm hoping our group support survives...without this ..I think I would feel a little lost...
  • It's a tough road to follow.... this cancer thing....  all we can do is our best.  Some days I find harder than others but I have to try to stay out of my head...staying in the present is hard...  I have lots of experience because of the polycystic kidneys and all that entails....  
  • Hi @nadiaC hope your still hanging in there...
  • @Flowergirl..do you think we would ever have zoom with these meetings...not so much to see one another but maybe to just chat..
  • Hello ladies! I hope I'm not too late to join in!