BCNA’s
theme for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is Connect. Support. Empower. Therefore, I am particularly pleased to connect
with you all in this Friday update. There is alot happening during the
month of October and BCNA will have a number of stories and campaign initiatives to coincide with the breast cancer awareness days.
October Awareness
Days:
• World Mental Health Day (10th Oct)
• World Hospice & Palliative Care Day (12th Oct)
• Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day – (13th Oct)
While we haven’t had any new groups to the Online Network in recent
weeks. BCNA shared to the ‘Living with metastatic breast cancer’ group, details
of the ‘Thursday Girls Group’ that may be of interest for women with metastatic
breast cancer looking for therapeutic support:
Popular forum discussions
Members new and old may have missed some of the forum discussions that have received the most comments:
1. Friday Funnies These
funny posts are welcome any day really – bringing something light hearted to
the forum
Key topics include new
podcast series, Upfront About Breast Cancer - What You Don't Know
Until You Do; an unfolding genetic story that has implications for an
entire family; learn about women's experiences of breast reconstruction that
were revealed in our latest report and Aunty Pam talks about her involvement in
the new Berlei campaign.
Clinical trials update
This information has also been shared in our Health Professionals
Network News and the Metastatic Advisory Group:
The fundraising team have relaunched the campaign to
encourage people to get involved in their organisation’s workplace giving
program and help BCNA ensure every one of the 20,000+ Australians diagnosed
with breast cancer this year receives the best care, treatment, and support. CLICK HERE to check out the campaign.
Webcasts and conferences REGISTER NOW!
Breast
Reconstruction Options and Expectations Join us for BCNA’s virtual
conference on Tuesday 12 October, 6-9pm to explore
the different options of breast reconstruction that may be available
to you, managing expectations, the important
considerations, key findings from the BCNA survey and
the emotional and physical impacts of breast reconstruction.
Metastatic
Breast Cancer -Thriving together- Living Longer, Living StrongerJoin us for BCNA’s virtual
conference on Thursday October 14, 6-9pm to explore new treatments on
the horizon for metastatic breast cancer and an in-depth look at
the management of bone metastases. We will also explore advanced care
planning, the importance of connecting with others for support to enhance
control and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness and
strategies to help you with ‘living’ with metastatic breast cancer.
Upfront About Breast Cancer Podcast
Exciting new 10-part podcast series What You Don't Know Until You Do, with Dr Charlotte
Tottman . Psychologist Charlotte Tottman’s experience of being
diagnosed with breast cancer, what she learnt, and a practical look at useful
strategies to help others cope with their own breast cancer experience from
someone who has been there too.
BCNA Member Support Team & Online Network Moderators - Introductions
I have recently gathered information from my colleagues to present you with short introductions. It is my pleasure to introduce the manager of our Member Support Team, Kate Dixon:
Kate started with
BCNA in 2012 with the information forums and managed the events team. She
has been lucky enough to have travelled all over Australia with BCNA providing
information and support to thousands of women and families diagnosed with
breast cancer. During the COVID-19 pandemic while these face-to-face events
have been on hold, Kate moved across to the Member Support Team to provide crucial
support and leadership.
Kate enjoys managing
her team and seeing them make a difference to people in their time of need.
During her experience with face-to-face events she enjoyed meeting with members
and particularly engaging with people in rural locations.
In her spare time
Kate enjoys watching a good documentary.
Books / Movies/ TV Series/ Documentaries
During the first lockdown in 2020 I
discovered the audiobook by author Hugh van Cuylenburg The Resilience
Project: Finding Happiness Through Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. The
lessons the author learned from underprivileged students and the work he has
done since is quite incredible
That concludes another Friday update and hope you enjoy the content. In the meantime, if you have any concerns while online, please contact one of the moderators -
If you need to speak with someone regarding your concern, please call 1800 500 258 alternatively, you can email contact@bcna.org.au (We will be back on deck Monday).
Take care,
The mod team – Mez, Carissa, Jenny, Anna, Pat & Michelle
‘Resilience
is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel,
you fail, you hurt, you fall. But, you keep going.’ – Yasmin Mogahed
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