English Community

Hi everyone,

Last week, Ovarian Cancer Canada hosted the first of three Speaker Series webinars focused on survivorship. Our session, Exploring survivorship: Life after a diagnosis, brought together expert insights and lived experience to explore what life after a gynecologic cancer diagnosis can look like.

The webinar recording is available in our English Community Library (click here to go to the library entry).

One of our favourite parts of the webinar was seeing the conversation unfold in the chat! Attendees shared helpful tips, resources and ideas based on their own experiences, and we've gathered them below so everyone in our OVdialogue community can benefit.

Now, we'd love to hear from you

• Have you tried any of the tips or resources listed below? Did you find them helpful?
•  Is there something you would add to the list? Maybe a resource you've found useful, a strategy that's helped you navigate survivorship, or advice you wish you'd heard earlier.

Your experiences and insights could help someone else in our community discover something new or feel better prepared for what lies ahead.

Share your thoughts below, and let's keep the conversation going on OVdialogue! I look forward to hearing from you.

Did you know? We still have two more sessions coming up – on November 4^th and November 17^th – find more information by clicking here. 

All the best,

Marianne.


From the attendees

Resources and support

• CALM (Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully): A supportive program that helps people navigate the emotional and practical challenges of living with advanced cancer. You can read about this research on Ovarian Cancer Canada's Research Showcase by clicking here. 

• Wellspring: Offers virtual programs, including support related to fear of recurrence, art therapy, and more. 

• InspireHealth: Offers programs and support for people living with cancer, including counselling, classes and guided conversations.

• Coming Home Therapy: Offers one-to-one oncology counselling, including support with fear of recurrence.

• BC Cancer: Offers counselling and supportive programs, including options such as art therapy and guided conversations.

Peer support and connection

• OVdialogue: Ovarian Cancer Canada's online community, where people affected by ovarian cancer can connect, share experiences, learn from others and find practical ideas and encouragement. (Good news - you've already found us!)

• Explore different groups: It can take time to find a support group that feels right for you. Trying different programs can help you discover what best meets your needs.

Support through your cancer care team

• Ask your oncology team or family doctor about counselling, social work services, supportive care programs and other resources available to you.

• If you are looking for emotional support, consider asking specifically about help with fear of recurrence, managing uncertainty or adjusting to life during and after treatment.

Attendees reminded us: Everyone's experience with cancer and support is different. Some people find helpful resources through their care team, while others discover them independently or through fellow community members. It's okay to explore different options and find what works best for you.

Thank you @mfallis_OCC for sharing this so quickly and for the additional summary of the session conversations. You've outlined some great resources!

I am fortunate to be a recipient of the CALM program working with Laura Foran (session presenter) out of Princess Margaret in Toronto. I was happy to hear the program is expanding to Southlake (Newmarket I believe) and London Health Sciences in Ontario. It sounds like it may also be available in BC and AB with plans to expand to MB, QC and the East Coast in 2027. As you mentioned, the best way to find out is to ask your medical team about counselling and social services.

I have also attended a few Wellspring sessions plus quite a few from Look Good, Feel Better (LGFB) Canada Look Good Feel Better Canada 

Lastly, I have found a few groups on Facebook that I follow specifically a Lynparza/Olaparib Support group. I think you always need to be careful with forums in some social media platforms however for the most part, this one has been quite interesting to follow. 

I look forward to hearing from other Teal Sisters here in OVdialogue. I'm always interesting in helpful resources. We are at so many different stages in our journey's. I've leveraged resources at different times along my path however, having knowledge that they existed has been helpful so I could leverage them when I felt the time was right and/or I was ready.

#Resources