Friday Update - 27th May 2022

Hello everyone,

I hope you have had a chance to view some of our informative online events held in the past few weeks and thankyou to those who attended the Ballarat Forum yesterday. Further details of these events will be shared with you in this update.

Thankyou to everyone who supported their local Bakers Delight and making the 2022 Pink Bun campaign a great success. With your help over $1.3 has been raised. This will help BCNA to continue to be the voice for Australians affected by breast cancer.

Take care.

Community highlights

Popular forum discussions

Members new and old may have missed some of the forum discussions that have been most active the past fortnight:

1. Newly diagnosed - private or public

2. Hormone suppression

3. Overwhelmed new diagnosis

4. Mastectomy

Tagging Feature

Are you unsure what the ‘tags’ are that you see in member discussions? Tagging is a feature that allows users to add keywords to discussions. Tags help label specific content for improved findability. When used with advanced search, they help isolate content by a relevant topic and improve results. When you are making a new post, you will see the ‘Tags’ field (as pictured below). When you begin to type a keyword into the field, a drop-down display relevant tags to autocomplete with. Tags can be multiple words and are separated from one another by hitting the enter. Clicking on the “Show Popular Tags” link allows users to see tags that people have used recently and choose from that list. A maximum of five tags can be added.

Posts by ‘Category Name’ 14 May – 27 May 2022

Community News

BCNA My Journey article updates

There have been some updates on My Journey articles 'Menopausal symptoms related to breast cancer treatment' and ‘Urinary symptoms related to breast cancer treatment'  

BCNA News 25 May 2022  - Election Result  

BCNA are looking forward to working with the elected Australian Labor Party (ALP) government on the implementation of their policy announcements that impact breast cancer treatment and care. CLICK HERE  to read further

BCNA Events – Ballarat Forum Recap

BCNA were excited to be back with the first face to face forum since 2019. Held in Ballarat yesterday (26/05), the ‘Living well with early breast cancer’ information forum explored topics including: the latest treatments for early breast cancer; managing common side effects of treatment; living well during and after treatment; and coping with the emotional impact of breast cancer.

We had a number of wonderful organisations at the event, including:

·        Cancer Council  

·        BreastScreen

·        Counterpart   

·        Dragons Abreast Ballarat

·        Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre (BRICC)  

BRICC is a local cancer centre providing cancer care and treatment for the community in the Grampians Region of Victoria. They have a wellness centre that provides services such as oncology massage, wig library, yoga, walking group, Look Good Feel Better, support group, bra fitting and financial advice. More information can be found on the link provided above.  

Presenters included Dr Belinda Yeo, Dr Charlotte Tottman and exercise physiologist Tracey Duggen. McGrath breast care nurse Joylene Fletcher and BCNA consumer representatives Renee Donaghy and Carol Wharton gave tips about managing common side effects of breast cancer treatment.

Joylene shared several services in Ballarat:

·        Why Wait for Wellness (promoting wellness during and after treatment with healthy eating & nutrition)

·        Local support group, Ballarat Pink Phoenix

·        Dragons Abreast Ballarat

·        Joylene also encouraged women to reach out to her or Leanne Storer, the local breast care nurses in Ballarat. The McGrath website has their contact details https://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/get-support/find-a-nurse/

Upcoming BCNA Forums – Join us in Launceston TAS!

BCNA will be in Launceston on Wednesday 22 June to host Information Forums for people living with breast cancer. There will be two concurrent information sessions throughout the day – one for people with early breast cancer and one for people with metastatic breast cancer. Please register for the session that is appropriate for your diagnosis. CLICK HERE  for further information and links to register

If you missed the webcast on Tuesday night, you can now watch on-demand via the following link Managing the long-term side effects of breast cancer treatment . The webcast was well received and a topic that is relevant to many people navigating the side effects of breast. This webcast addressed common long-term side effects of breast cancer treatment and how you can manage them, explain why ongoing support and follow-up care is important, explore the role of survivorship care plans and why you might need one, and let you know about support and resources available to you.  Registrations exceeded 3,000 and more than 1,000 people watched the webcast live. 

If you missed the ‘Ask the Expert’ event this week, you can watch the video via the following link Ask the Expert: Managing cognitive changes related to breast cancer treatments with Jo Lewis The session saw 1,822 registrations, with over 500 live attendees. We heard from occupational therapist Jo Lewis and BCNA member Kate Keogh Murray. The session addressed what you need to know about cognitive impairment following breast cancer treatment, including key causes and symptoms you may experience, effective strategies and practical tips to help you manage symptoms, and where you can find help. 

Podcast – coming in June

In BCNA’s monthly podcast series Upfront About Breast Cancer, June will see the conversation focus on ‘Men and Breast Cancer’. Stay tuned for further details via the Upfront About Breast Cancer Podcast page

If you watched the recent webcast Managing the long-term side effects of breast cancer treatment , you may have taken note of Prof. Bogda’s mention of several website links for people to gain information and strategies to improve health during and after cancer treatment. As well as support for working after cancer. I thought these appropriate to share for this week’s recommended reads:

https://www.findingmyway.org.au/

https://healthylivingaftercancer.org/

https://www.workaftercancer.com.au/

Take care and if you have feedback or any concerns while online, please contact one of the moderators -  

@Jenny_BCNA @Carissa_BCNA @Anna_BCNA @Pat_BCNA @Mez_BCNA

If you need to speak with someone regarding your concern, please call 1800 500 258 alternatively, you can email contact@bcna.org.au

Take care,

The mod team – Mez, Carissa, Jenny, Anna & Pat