Advocacy
An integral part of our Mission Statement is to provide advocacy through our dedicated support network. We do this in many ways, which include providing a patient voice for women in Ireland affected by Ovarian Cancer. Our members have bravely shared their stories through the media to raise the profile and awareness of the disease. Our Medical Panel, works continuously on behalf of our members to help improve access to the latest research, trials and treatments.
We are part of a National Committee (Irish Network for Gynaecological Oncology) focussed on creating awareness for World Ovarian Cancer Day on May 8th and World Gynaecological Oncology Day on Sept 20th every year.
OvaCare is a member of ENGAGe which is a subgroup of ESGO (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology). We are also members of ECPC (European Cancer Patient Coalition). Our own members of OvaCare, who are primarily patients and family members, continually express concern that their cause is little known in Ireland and therefore little understood or provided for. In addressing the former issue of being little known, OvaCare was actively involved in establishing the first every World Ovarian Cancer Day in 2013 and is part of the International working group on this.
ENGAGe (European Network of Gynecological Cancer Advocacy Groups)
https://engage.esgo.org/
ECPC (European Cancer Patient Coalition)
https://ecpc.org/
World Ovarian Cancer Coalition
https://worldovariancancercoalition.org/
The Irish Network for Gynecological Oncology
Research
OvaCare is committed to supporting research into the early identification and treatment of ovarian cancer and sharing the most up to date information with its patients and families.
OvaCare contributed to the funding of the t-BRCA trial carried out by Cancer Trials Ireland https://www.cancertrials.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/t-BRCA.pdf
Support -Patient Days and support groups
Patient Days take place across Ireland which provide information and support for ovarian cancer patients and their families. It provides the opportunity to hear from leading clinicians, therapists and researchers specialising in the disease, as well as being a chance to meet fellow patients. The response to these days has been astounding; with many patients stating that they ‘no longer feel alone’. We have established ovarian cancer support groups and run “coffee and chat” events each month across the country. From our events it is clear that women would appreciate the opportunity to meet with others going through similar experiences on a regular basis for support and encouragement.
Information
Our website provides vital factsheets on ovarian cancer, links for the latest news, links for Cancer Trials Ireland for clinical trial updates and progress in research as well as information on upcoming events. Our ovarian cancer information was established thanks to a joint grant from ENGAGe (European Network of Gynaecological Cancer Advocacy Groups) ENGAGe- The European Network of Gynaecological Cancer Advocacy Groups https://engage.esgo.org/ to OvaCare and another Irish ovarian cancer charity SOCK (Supporting Ovarian Cancer Knowledge) www.sock.ie.
OvaCare is delighted to support the ovarian platform of thisisGo, a one stop shop for accurate and reliable information for ovarian cancer patients and their partners. We would encourage you to visit this site which offers a personalised resource for you and yours impacted by a gynaecological cancer. We would like to thank all our members who worked with the thisisGO team to deliver the content that patients and their partners want.
Online Community
Our online community (link online community for facebook and healthunlocked) forms part of our website and is a place where patients and family members share their experiences, fears, hopes and concerns via online blogs, questions and polls. The community is proving a valuable resource for those directly affected by a disease which sees over 400 new diagnoses each year in Ireland.