Ovacome – a community of support for anyone affected by ovarian cancer
Ovacome – a community of support for anyone affected by ovarian cancer
Providing a knowledgeable community of information, Ovacome offers vital support for anyone affected by ovarian cancer in the UK, as well as raising awareness about the disease.
The team behind Ovacome
They have a dedicated team of permanent and volunteer staff, including Trustees lead by Dr. Cathryn Hughes, who is a registered nurse. They also have been supporting research at the University of Birmingham since 2014, supervised by Professor Kehoe and undertaken by Dr Rachel Pounds, Ovacome Clinical Research Fellow. The research aims to determine why ovarian tumours become resistant to chemotherapy. Meanwhile, their Medical Advisory Board provides information and guidance, acting as a specialist resource to the organisation.
What they do to support cancer patients
The work that Ovacome does falls into two categories; supporting individuals and their loved ones, and raising awareness of symptoms, signs and experiences with the illness.
They have just under 4,000 members and each year they support around 18,000 people by providing a range of support services, including:
- A telephone support line
- A 24-hour online forum
- Face-to-face support groups
- Email support and an instant chat service
- Leaflets, resources and a newsletter, all packed with information that women with ovarian cancer need
In terms of raising awareness, they run a successful UK Survivors Teaching Students programme, giving presentations and educating student nurses, doctors and specialists on signs, symptoms and experiences of women with ovarian cancer. They are the European representatives of this programme, which began in the United States.
They are dedicated to helping women and healthcare professionals to recognise the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and for high quality care and treatment to be available to all. To this end, they run events for those affected by the disease to get together and share their experiences.
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