March is Ovarian Cancer AWARENESS Month (or is it?)

i feel that cancer does not discriminate, i am setting up a support group in my area for people with and affected by all cancers. i myself have had breast cancer and i have had little emotional support from my bc nurse, absolutely no financial support, so i think we are maybe all singing from the same hymn sheet. i think the reason that breast cancer does get so much press is due to the very high amount of women and now men that get it each year in comparison to other cancers. also i had my ovaries removed as the risk of getting ovarian cancer after breast cancer is higher, no light decision at all, but something i had to fight for. Also women can make a big difference to their diagnosis if they detect a lump earlier, so the more awareness that is made the more lives it may save and hopefully women will become more aware of the changes in their breasts.
i did read your link and to be honest i would hate that anyone would resent my having the horrendous surgery that i have had due to having breast cancer, but believe me its not a bed of roses for anyone with any cancer. we can see our breasts, our ovaries and other internal organs are not so easy to detect.
i think all cancers should be treated the same with the press, my mother died of renal cancer, you never hear anything about that either. cancer is cancer, it doesn't matter where it is, the impact can be devastating for us all.
Alisonxx

and of course the survival rate for Breast Cancer is now so high compared to other Cancers.

i copied this from your link, i think maybe your group needs to study the statistics for breast cancer patients before making such assumptions.

Every year in the UK over 6,600 cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the UK.

Ovarian cancer causes more than 4,400 deaths in the UK each year.

# Breast cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK
# Each year more than 44,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, that’s more than 100 women a day
# Each year around 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer
# Breast cancer rates have increased by more than 50% over the last twenty years
# Each year in the UK more than 12,000 women and around 100 men die from breast cancer
# Each year there are around 1,400 deaths from breast cancer in women under 50

these stats are taken from Cancer research UK

maybe this is why they try to raise awareness so much
who knows!

Hello Alison

I do value your comments VERY MUCH Alison thank you, however I must reiterate as you really are missing the point. The month of March is SUPPOSED TO BE Ovarian Cancer AWARENESS month and so far there has been NO publicity whatsoever. With respect I think you are acting a bit 'blinkered', as it should be realised that the constant deluge of publicity for breast cancer awareness especially THIS MONTH has thus far only succeeded in upsetting our Ovarian Cancer members more than you can imagine, several think it just forces 'salt into their wound' and I tend to agree.

The following are your words Alison

i think all cancers should be treated the same with the press,

This is the whole point we are DESPERATELY trying to make Alison, Ovarian Cancer is not getting ANY PUBLICITY AT ALL.

Of course as you point out, cancer is cancer, BUT do you realise that to live up to 5 years following diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer is a bonus as the majority of ladies will die within 5 years?? is this a GOOD statistic Alison ???

Of course I know that more and more people are contacting breast cancer and this is appreciated, but the increase is with ALL other cancers as well. If you checkout our site again FULLY it is will be shown that there will be, by 2020, an increase in general cancers in the Merseyside area alone by a whopping 54%, so I am fully aware of statistics.

I appreciate the statistics you have provided but respectfully will add, if you wish to talk percentages it should be realised that, the "percentage" of ladies "dying" from Ovarian Cancer is virtually the same as the SUCCESS rate for breast cancer, should Ovarian Cancer therefore not recognised?? it is not called 'The Silent Killer' for nothing and to not make the public aware of this by virtue of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (one month in 12 is all we ask) is a damn disgrace.

Alison if you wish to carry on this DISCUSSION I don't think this forum is the place and I would prefer we email directly via the Ovarian Cancer Support Group Emailing Service. Thank you.

Peter Dobson
Moderator
Ovarian Cancer Support Group
www.ocsg.co.uk

hi Peter i do take all your points on board and i can imagine the frustration that your group feels, i also realise that the survival rate for ovarian cancer is so much lower than for breast cancer, but i can only speak for the cancer that i have had myself, and believe me i went through horrendous surgery in order to have my ovaries and the rest of that tackle removed due to the higher risk of getting ovarian cancer.
Peter, if i can support you in anyway then i would, i have had enough crap thrown at me just by having this disease to ensure that i would never have anything but total empathy and understanding for any person that have/had cancer, i do not know what my future holds, and i realise that i am sitting on the fence not knowing if i will survive or not, i just have to trust to the drugs that i have to take over the next 7 year will decide my future.
Untill i was diagnosed Peter i never really gave a thought to any type of cancer,i knew all about renal cancer as thats what my Mother died of, i also worked for the Marie Curie Foundation for many years, so as i said, cancer is cancer, if they can help to prevent it in any way then i am all for that, as i have said, women and men can if they check regulary notice changes in their breasts, so there is no question that that message has to be sent out, but i would be all for campaigning for methods for early detection of all the other hard to detect cancers, but i would not be happy to have any dealings with your site Peter as even if i had been terminal, and who knows if i will get a recurrence, but i cannot in any way condone anyone who resents any sort of cancer. so thank you for the invitiation but no thanks
Alison

Hi again, has your group tried contacting your local MP? i will mention here that i am a fellow scouser, i grew up in Kirkby, we have one useless piece of dirt of an MP in the area i live in, but now that Derek Hatton has gone, and Kilroy Silk, surely Merseyside has some decent MPs nowadays.
Peter i don,t mean to come over as confrontational, and as i said i am well into campaigning so if i can help you i will, as i am sure anyone on this site would. I don;t know why people who have ovarian cancer do not get the recognition that they deserve and they do deserve it, i really do think that no matter what cancer you have then you are totally discriminated against in this country, from my own experience i have been made to feel like a total begger even though i have worked all my life, but at least i have my life and thats the most important thing at the moment.
Alison

You said:

but i would not be happy to have any dealings with your site Peter as even if i had been terminal, and who knows if i will get a recurrence, but i cannot in any way condone anyone who resents any sort of cancer. so thank you for the invitiation but no thanks

Alison where have "I" personally, said that "I" resented cancer as such?? I was merely (by including a passage from our Forum) letting it be known that 'other cancers DO exist' and are not being mentioned AT ALL.

Alison we should be "WORKING TOGETHER" NOT 'DOING THE WASH' IN THESE PAGES.

Ladies suffering Ovarian Cancer have every right to be heard, especially this month, and the reluctance by the media to let it be known, beggars belief! I suggest you read the passage again and note the author, maybe even spank the author but NOT ME Alison, I am JUST a male doing MY best for you females, and simply the "POSTMAN".

I did say that I prefer to contact you DIRECTLY. Please no more reference to me OR the Ovarian Cancer Support Group on this forum. I know that forums are the place to 'air your views', but it is NOT the place to attempt to upset people as I feel you are trying your best to do, especially people doing their best for Cancer Sufferers, like yourself, but OTHER Cancers, yes Alison there are OTHER Cancers other than Breast Cancer!!

Goodbye!!

Peter Dobson

Seems like it got a bit heated here and no wonder.

I worked in PR for the last year for an organisation that provides both palliative care and neurological care.

In my job it was always so much easier to get the media to run stories on our hospices and the specialist end of life care we provided than the long term neurological care for people with conditions like MS, Parkinson's disease, etc.

What I'm trying to say is that the media don't present the news - they decide what the news is. In the case of ovarian cancer awareness month, they will probably have pushed something like Marie Curie's daffodil campaign further up the agenda because they know it may relate to more of their readers.

I used to get so frustrated trying to get the media to cover a story about someone living with something like motor neurone disease - an awful, awful condition, when they would snap my hand off for a piece about someone living with cancer. It's not fair but then it was my job to think of more creative ways to get the media to sit up and take notice so that all of the people our organisation was caring for were represented.

It's always a challenge to adopt the less common cause but our country needs organisations like yours that can highlight the needs of people affected by ovarian cancer. My partner has a form of lymphoma. Most people I speak to have never even heard of this! The only cancer other than this that I have known in my life with family and friends has been breast cancer. As I have a personal connection to this it will always be something close to my heart. I guess that's how a lot of people feel but I agree that other conditions need recognition too.

Thank you Annabelle for your vote of confidence.

Well we are now 3/4's of our way through the Month of March supposedly Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and the group have now given up ALL hope of seeing or hearing ANYTHING at all about Ovarian Awareness month.

Maybe the media have heard enough about cancer I will never know, however I fail to understand (and with all the reminders I have posted on media notice boards) why they are not 'taking the bait' as they all have Mothers, Daughters or even Girlfriends ALL subceptible by virtue of the ovary to Ovarian Cancer but they show no interest. I am MORE than amazed!!

Peter Dobson
Ovarian Cancer Support Group
www.ocsg.co.uk

Peter

I saw a number of articles in the March issues of women's magazines about OC - all the main ones had articles - I cut them out to use on a display at a coffee morning I organised for The Eve Appeal. I was diagnosed with OC last October - so was obviously interested to see what was out there in the media. Maybe not as much as some other cancers - but they were still there.

Liz

sorry i have not got back to you earlier, started a new job and all that malarky!!!!!! anyway, did the bit on highpeak radio, have not heard it myself yet but i did mention about ovarian and prostate cancer, unfortunaltly they don't seem to have a link, well not that i can find but then again i am a Mac user, so here is the address if you want to look, all i can do is listen to the station and hopefully catch it one day!!!!!!!! (it was in a done up garage!!!!!!!!) its www.highpeakradie.co.uk
all the best
Alisonxxx

Hello

I work in the press office at Cancerbackup/Macmillan Cancer Support and I am always looking for people to raise awareness in the press of living with cancer.

If this sounds of interest please email me at rgarnett@cancerbackup.org

Thank you
Rachel