Fridays update on Monday 3 December 2018

Giovanna_BCNA
Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,839
edited December 2018 in Community news and events


Hello everyone,

Welcome to our fortnightly update. Hoping you all had a good weekend. My apologies for not posting on Friday but I had an annual leave day. So here is our fortnightly update.

With only 3 weeks to go until Christmas it looks like lunch at my place is getting bigger by the day! Thanks to everyone that has replied, see my checklist below to see that we are on track for our virtual Christmas lunch!

@socoda will be bringing cake, @Annie C Christmas pudding (with traditional sixpences), @kmakm trifle, @SoldierCrab good alcohol, @arpie Ukulele’s, @Blossom1961 truffles. I will be bringing the Christmas roast and vegies and provide the afternoon entertainment game of Tombola (Italian bingo)! Thought we could have a game or two while we listen the Ukuleles! Oh almost forgot, BYO virtual chair! For anyone who has not rsvpd there is still time!

Marianne and I held our second teleconference this year with our online major contributors and group leaders last week. This was a great opportunity to hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can best support new members to the online forum and our plans for moving ahead in 2019.

The last Friday update for this year (I promise it will be posted on a Friday!) will be 14 December. I’m planning to include information regarding moderation of the online network over the Christmas New Year break and information regarding available support services over the holiday period.


Community highlights 

1.Trying
not to feel resentful
Great thread commenced by @Milly21.   Having completed her cancer treatment over
18 months ago, Milly21 is feeling resentful about the lack of support she has
received from family and friends.

 2.The
new me
  Great thread commenced by
@kitkatb.  The ‘new me’ describes how
things have changed and how hard it can be to reengage with social activities
and connections after a breast cancer diagnosis.

 3. Friday
funnies
Great thread commenced by @kmakm, happy reading!

 

Community news

 Carman’s Fun Run
Sunday 2 December St Kilda Melbourne

What an amazing day was had this Sunday with the Carman’s Women’s
fun run.  The event was a fabulous
success with a total of 5,800 participants and over $200,000 raised so far and
counting!

 


Webcast – Just diagnosed what’s next?

I have noticed that there have been quite a few new online members’ registrations recently including members who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer looking for support and guidance regarding treatment options.  I wanted to highlight the following BCNA resource that you may not have seen on our website.

The webcast titled ‘Just diagnosed what next?’  In this webcast leading experts provide important information to assist with decision-making and coping in the early days after initial diagnosis. You will also hear from a breast cancer survivor, who will share tips on what she wishes she’d known when first diagnosed and trying to make treatment decisions.

  • Caroline Baker, breast surgeon
  • Kathryn Wallace, breast care nurse
  • Renee Gani, breast cancer survivor

You can view the webcast here


Grateful Remembrance Jar: A Quick and Easy Thanksgiving Activity

Rosie came across this great article that we thought would be great to share with our online members.  We are fast approaching the holiday season and for some people this can be a very challenging time of the year.  Some of us may be grieving the loss of a loved one and wishing they could be with us.  This article talks about an easy thanksgiving activity that may help you to acknowledge them during this difficult time, see here


International Day of People with a Disability

Today is International Day of People with a Disability and the theme for this year is empowering persons with a disability and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.  Coping with breast cancer can be difficult. If you are also living with a disability, you may face additional challenges.

The needs of people with disabilities diagnosed with breast cancer may vary depending on individual circumstances, type of disability, financial situation, support networks, culture and many other factors. Appropriate information and support can help you to feel more in control and able to participate in decisions about your treatment and care.

BCNA has resources designed specifically for people with a disability. These include fact sheets in Easy English and audio, as well as video resources here

 

BCNA charity Christmas card pack

Check out these striking, beautiful and unusual art cards, greeting cards, calendars, stationery, wrapping paper & selected gifts showcasing Aboriginal / Indigenous art, Australian artists, illustrators and designers.  10% of sales of selected cards go to BCNA. You can view the cards and order here

  

Inspirational quote


Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.

Dalai Lama

 

Have a great week everyone, take care and look after yourselves.

Kind regards

Giovanna

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Comments

  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    edited December 2018
    Thanks Giovanna, super update. Pity most of those Christmas cards have sold out! And wow, $200,000 raised at the Fun Run! Amazing.

    Now what about a Fun Hobble?!  ;)
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,540
    Oh who are the major contributors?
  • Giovanna_BCNA
    Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,839
    Hello @iserbrown sending you a private message
  • wendy55
    wendy55 Member Posts: 774
    Hi @giovanna, I would love to be part of your virtual christmas dinner, two things I always provide are good quality bon bons, the ones that have really good little bits and pieces in and also PAVLOVA! will that do?,
    wendy55
  • Giovanna_BCNA
    Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,839
    Oh sensational @wendy55 my son was asking for a pavlova the other day!  And bon bons, love that!
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    I'm also doing the roast potatoes remember!
  • Giovanna_BCNA
    Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,839
    Yeah!  love roast potatoes
  • FYONA1
    FYONA1 Member Posts: 138
    Hi @Giovanna i always do a big bowl of potato salad and a delicious baklava for dessert is that ok
  • Giovanna_BCNA
    Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,839
    Awesome @FYONA1 look forward to trying the baklava!
  • Sister
    Sister Member Posts: 4,960
    I'll bring the champers unless someone's already on that!
  • Giovanna_BCNA
    Giovanna_BCNA Member Posts: 1,839
    Champagne sounds great @Sister!
  • BlackWidow
    BlackWidow Member Posts: 268
    Hi @Giovanna_BCNA.  I would like to ask the same question as @iserbrown - WHO ARE THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS ?  I guess I would like to ask why those specific people are involved in conferences ?  If your answer is that they are always on the site then perhaps you could ask yourselves if they are just the more verbal ones - what about us who are quiet contributors ?  Maybe we also have relevant thoughts and ideas on how we can best support new members to the online forum and our plans for moving ahead in 2019.  Why doesn't BCNA ask all members to contribute ?  Thanks  Anne

  • Marianne_BCNA
    Marianne_BCNA Member Posts: 245
    Hi @iserbrown and @BlackWidow. The teleconference we held is part of regular meetings we hold with members of the online community to check in re ideas, issues and plans often which have been raised by online members. So that this meeting is manageable we invite members who are either group leaders or the 10 members who have posted the most in the previous 2 month period. Selecting members this way is impartial and means we get a different make up of membership at each meeting as members come and go and their particpation rate fluctuates over time. Having said that, we probably had too many members at this meeting so Giovanna and i will be discussing how best to do this moving forward. Please keep in mind that members are always welcome to provide us with feedback, ideas etc via direct message at any time. Members frequently do this and we value their contribution. 
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,540
    Sounds like it's time for a survey to all members.

    Ability to participate on a constant basis or occasionally on the online forum varies for lots of reasons.

    The confusion has arisen by the major contributor wording, a listing which appears on the activity page.


  • Patti J
    Patti J Member, Dragonfly Posts: 589
    Grrr..another webcast for early stage breast cancer!