English Community

Spring is here (I think... and depending on your part of the country)!

Welcome to the Teal Thursday chat for May 2026.

Teal Thursdays are an opportunity to connect 'live' with others by posting in the thread below. While the Teal Thursday is set for Thursdays at 1pm Eastern, feel free to add to the conversation when it works for you.

If you would like to revisit the Teal Thursday conversation from April 2026, you can do so by clicking here. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to me, anytime. 

I hope you have a wonderful May, 

Marianne

Hi all and happy first Thursday of May. The robins are out in full force here and the bunnies are everywhere! I live in what is referred to as a "globally significant, premier bird migratory stopover site on the birds "Atlantic Freeway"". So as you can imagine, mornings are quite 'chirpy' around here. May is also when we see a large influx of "birders" to our area. We pay close attention to them along the roads because they tend to be looking up and not paying much attention to traffic 😗. 

I won't be able to join everyone today at 1pm as I'll be on my way to Toronto for my Friday appointment at PMH (Princess Margaret) so I'm posting a bit early. The good part of the trip is that I'll get to stop and see my granddaughter. Always something that fills my heart. I should have the results of my CT scan for the appointment (but not the dreaded CA125 as that always comes two days later). We shall see what my labs and CT scan reveal relative to this continuous left side pain I've been having.

I hope others are doing well out there. Certainly interested in hearing from anyone new to the forum. We are a group that tends to love questions so please feel free to ask away. We may not be experts, but we hold a lot of knowledge and experience. Remember, no question is a dumb question. Our collective goal is to help every Teal Sisters as best as we can! 💙

Also sending happy Mother's Day greetings this weekend. Mother's Day to me is for celebrating all women with a mother’s heart, regardless of whether they have children of their own. It's about the nurturing spirit women can bring to everyone around them. 💗

Crossing my fingers and toes that you hear only good news at PMH.

Sunny but cool day here in Lucan. Managed to do all three workout sessions this week, including one this morning. I spoke to my large exercise group and told them about tomorrow being World Ovarian Cancer Day. I thanked them for their tremendous support that has helped me keep going. I teased our trainer that at first I blamed him for a pulled muscle in my abdomen 3 years ago, but soon learned what was causing the pain and headed to surgery. ( Stage 3C HGSOC- BRCA2 ) I told them as well, that I have been asked to do another interview tomorrow for CTV London news.( after the one for the London Free Press on March 27th.) After training hundreds of First Aid/CPR classes for 32 years, I do not have that common fear of talking to a group of people, or an interviewer. It will be another interesting experience and I hope to represent us Teal Warriors as well as possible. For those in the area, it will be on the CTV London 6pm news.

I asked my supporters to consider a donation tomorrow to Ovarian Cancer Canada, so I hope they will be generous. I pointed out that it is the deadliest of gynecological cancers and the biggest cancer threat to women, along with pancreatic cancer. My passion for raising awareness and support continues to grow. Women deserve to have have attention to this scourge. Again, finding the teal sisters to talk to, and learn from has been such a lifeline. The emotional impacts of this journey are hard to wade through alone. Love you Ladies !!!!!!!!!!

I am certain that you will represent us well, lbarr72. You are very articulate and thoughtful. It is important that we get the word out about this disease and I too am committed to talking to other women about paying attention to changes in their bodies. I have talked to my Zumba class a few times about symptoms to be aware of. I also post a bit on my Facebook wall to build awareness. 

(Similar to you, I thought that the pain on my side was related to sit-ups from fitness class, so I didn't see a doctor until there were other strange changes in my body). 

Warmest wishes to all our Teal Sisters!  

LeslieA

Thinking of you lbarr72 re: this news. May it just be surgical scar tissue like the Onc suggests, but if not, it sounds as though it has been caught early. Good to change your appointment to June. I imagine there will be an action plan in place.  Regardless, a dent in your shield and all the accompanying thoughts and feelings...

I am glad that you are going ahead with your trip to the coast and to your family cabin in July. We have to keep on keeping on, don't we? I will look forward to seeing you at the conference along with our other teal sisters.  

Hugs to you. 

Alwayslearning,

I hope that all is well with your scan and the CA 125 test. I also hope that there is some resolution for your discomfort on your left side. 

I love that spring is here. Ours came a month earlier than expected; we had blossoms starting in March. There wasn't enough snow on the mountains in some areas in BC, so the prediction is for a hot, dry summer (so unlike typical west coast weather). For now I am enjoying this period of sunny, warm weather. 

Healthwise, I am still well. The doc changed our monthly check-in's to bimonthly. I must admit that I miss the regular contact with her and the opportunity to chat about whatever is on my mind. 

I have mild fatigue from the Lynparza, but otherwise everything else seems fine. 

I am making plans for the summer, so that I have things to look forward to. I am travelling to Prince Edward County in Ontario to visit a good friend in August. I haven't seen her for many years, therefore it feels important to make this effort. I was so sick last year; now I am well again, so I had better not delay anything I want/need to do! 

Thank you for your words about a mother's heart. I don't have children unfortunately, but I have rescued and mothered a couple of dogs from Mexico, and cared for other dogs and cats over my lifetime. They truly were my animal children. 

Happy Mother's Day to all!