Friday update 27 July 2018
Hello everyone and welcome to Fridays update.
Can you believe it’s only 15 days to go until the 2018 Field
of Women! I myself am very excited as it
will be my very first Field of Women. I
have been reflecting on this event over the last few weeks and what it will
mean for me to be able to stand on the MCG on the day. I’m finding it hard to put it into words; I
will definitely feel proud and excited but there will also be some sadness as I
think of people I have known who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. As you all know, the impact of a breast
cancer diagnosis is very far reaching and has touched my family and some of my
friends. I think of them often and do my
best to provide support.
I’m planning to
walk out onto the MCG and stand very proud, to support, inform, represent and
connect all Australians who have been affected by breast cancer. I’m also really looking forward to meeting
some of our online community who will be at the event. Please come up and say hello (you may need to
introduce yourself using your online username!). I
really look forward to meeting and sharing this special event with you. It’s still not too late to book to attend and make sure
you order your commemorative scarf!
A gentle reminder about speaking from your own experience
when providing medical information online.
All the current moderators of the online forum are cancer nurses and a
social worker. We will endeavor to
correct any inaccurate or misleading information regarding treatment that
appears online but any concerns or questions you may have about a specific
treatment and its suitability for your individual situation really needs a
conversation with your treating medical or radiation oncologist.
Also, we
have had a request from an online member asking about another emoji button that
can be used for expressing compassion and or understanding. We have contacted our online platform developers
and are looking at adding this in the near future, stay tuned!
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
Every week we have so much variety in the posts being shared
online. See three of my favourite recent
conversations that you may have missed!
What a great thread, restarted by @Sister! The night howlers now have their own space to
continue their discussion regarding sleeplessness. We at BCNA are looking forward
to seeing the night howl t-shirts coming to fruition!
Heading
for the 2018 Project LEAD Course in California
What
an amazing opportunity for @traveltext who is currently in the States attending
the 2018 Project LEAD Course in California.
This is a six day intensive science course, designed for the lay public
to train breast cancer advocates.
Thread
commenced by @FionaJ who was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma and
scheduled to have a bilateral mastectomy in a couple of days. Her reply comment says it all
‘Thank you ladies. Your support means a
lot to me.
There have been a few tears, some nausea and I
feel like I'm about to hyperventilate. I know I have no choice. So I will take
that deep breath and try to push the overthinking away.’
This
is what’s amazing about our online community – the support you provide each
other!
COMMUNITY NEWS
A big thank you to SoldierCrab for raising the issue of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for our online community.
This has now been implemented in the BCNA Online network. In a nutshell, Secure Socket
Layer (SSL) is a cryptographic protocol designed to keep communication safe
over the Internet. For any tech- minded members
that would like more information please see below.
SSL Encrypts Sensitive
Information
SSL is the backbone of our secure Internet and it protects
your sensitive information as it travels across the world's computer networks.
The primary reason why SSL is used is to keep sensitive information sent across
the Internet encrypted so that only the intended recipient can understand it.
This is important because the information you send on the Internet is passed
from computer to computer to get to the destination server. Any computer in
between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames and
passwords, and other sensitive information if it is not encrypted with an SSL
certificate. When an SSL certificate is used, the information becomes
unreadable to everyone except for the server you are sending the information
to. This protects it from hackers and identity thieves. More info:
https://www.sslshopper.com/why-ssl-the-purpose-of-using-ssl-certificates.html
This Instagram Artist’s
Illustrations About Life and Mental Health Will Help You Feel 'Normal'
I recently
started to follow this young women who draws about all sorts of thoughts and
feelings. She has a
beautiful way of capturing emotions in a simple and quirky way. She started drawing after experiencing a
significant health challenge. See the
above article and take note of her representation of resilience! Cheers Rosie
New workplace support for people affected by breast cancer
BCNA
has just launched a new range of resources - including an online hub of
information - to support not only employees but employers and colleagues to
help people to overcome the challenges of continuing or returning to work after
a diagnosis of breast cancer.
We
encouraging you, your employers and colleagues to visit BCNA’s website bcna.org.au/work-and-breast-cancer or call
BCNA’s Helpline on 1800 500 258 for further information, support and referral.
Early feedback has been really positive and we are looking
forward to continuing to develop this program and promote these support
initiatives over the coming 12 months.
“What a
wonderful resource. I am so delighted to see these issues being dealt
with as they are part and parcel of this journey. Unfortunately every bit
as debilitating to one's health as the disease itself. I can't tell you how
much comfort this would have given me if available when I was working.
Even though I did use many of these initiatives outlined in your fact sheets, I
had to find out about them myself and sometimes the timing and my approach was
wrong. Despite this wonderful information, discrimination is a hard nut
to crack, my employee surreptitiously struck me off the books without my
knowledge. If they had been honest with me, I could still be working.
This knowledge should be provided to every business in Australia. I commend
BCNA for a job well done.” – Karen, BCNA member
Hoping you all have
a great weekend and enjoy some sunshine!
Regards Giovanna
Comments
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Thanks for the update @Giovanna_BCNA . I wish I could join you at Field of Women and meet some of the people I talk to so often. I'll be there in spirit.
I'd also like to thank admin again for resurrecting the chatter post as Night Howls - I can't take credit for much of the lobbying - others were just nice enough to let me go first!
Have a lovely weekend everyone.1 -
I've been following that young woman on Instagram for a while. Her stuff is fantastic. Highly recommended!1
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I like the idea of a new emoji to express sympathy. If you don't have a comment to make, but 'like', 'awesome' or 'LOL' just don't feel right.2
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Oops! Forgot to say - really looking forward to a compassion button. Sometimes I just have no words but really want to acknowledge someone's post.3
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Yes, I'm on the compassion button bandwagon too. I think people with more unusual issues seeking help or answers can sometimes not get many responses and that can make them feel alone. It's a good emoji option to have.4
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Good on you @traveltext for embarking on what I'm sure will be a much needed resource once you are back home. I don't know how you do it. But I'm glad.2
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The workplace support initiave is such an important one, thanks BCNA.
I'm leaving San DDiego today after an amazing week of learning and bonding with over 40 keen bc patient advocates. These included 10 mets people and two men. I'll post a summary of the event.4 -
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Thanks @Giovanna_BCNA great update and love the link to the workplace support info!! Thanks!2
