Ovarian Cancer – Page 3 – Nightwolf's Den

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

This month (February) is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. I’m turning my blog, Twitter and Facebook teal for the month to show my support for those currently battling Ovarian Cancer and for the families who have lost a loved one.

Ovarian Cancer is a disease where some of the cells in one or both ovaries start to grow abnormally and develop into cancer. There currently is no screening test for Ovarian Cancer. If your doctor suspects ovarian cancer, there are a number of tests they can perform to help decide whether your symptoms are due to ovarian cancer or other causes. Of these tests, it is strongly recommended that both the CA125 blood test and the transvaginal ultrasound are performed. If these tests strongly suggest ovarian cancer, then your doctor will recommend an operation, which is the only definite way to diagnose ovarian cancer.

Every woman needs to know what the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer. Make sure you do.
Women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer report four types of symptoms most frequently:

Abdominal or pelvic pain.
Increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating.
Needing to urinate often or urgently.
Feeling full after eating a small amount.

Most women who experience these symptoms don’t have Ovarian Cancer but if you experience these symptoms regularly over a four week period, please discuss your symptoms with a doctor and if other reasons don’t rule out your symptoms ask to be tested for Ovarian Cancer

Events during February to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer include

WNBL Teal Ribbon Round (Feb 1st to Feb 3rd)
Brazilian Butterfly Queen of the Lake – Melbourne, Vic (see starttofinish.com.au for more details)
Contours 6 Week Challenge – see Contours website for more info
K.I.S.S. on Valentine’s Day (I’ll be sharing more about this on Feb 14)
GO Festival
Afternoon Teal – Mum & I will be hosting ours later this month
Teal Ribbon Day. Wednesday 29th Feb. Teal Ribbon Day is a way to show your support for Ovarian
Cancer awareness, support and research and recognise those affected.

The majority of the information in this post comes from Ovarian Cancer Australia. Support this organisation – they do an amazing job! Follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook. I am in no way associated with this organisation. I am blogging about this cause because it is close to my heart.

Coming to an end

I’m a little sad Frocktober has come to an end but looking forward to getting back into jeans when it’s a little cold. I’m super happy I’ve managed to raise $746 of my $1000 goal. You can still donate for another couple of weeks so yay!

Over the weekend, I held an afternoon tea to raise some more funds. Everyone who came frocked up & those that didn’t were ‘fined’. We had a great time, ate yummy food and played some fun games. There was a lucky door prize and a raffle.

I’d like to take a quick moment to thank those who donated items to the raffle:
* Pooki’s
* Amcal George Town
* my Mum (who donated heaps)

onto the final dresses……


Day 22 Dress by Luca & Marc Leggings by Target	Day 23 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Target	Day 24 Dress by Mia Rose Shirt by Target

Day 25 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Mavi	Day 26 * Wedding dress by Jeanie Nitro, Silver dress by ?, Purple dress by ?	Day 27 Dress by Hess Tshirt by Hess Leggings by Target

Day 28 Dress by Rivers Shirt by Target	Day 29 Dress by Millers Shirt by Millers	Day 30 Dress by Rivers

Day 31 Dress by Mia Rose	and a final message	and the reason why I did Frocktober (love you Mum!)

* Day 26 I forgot to take a photo of the dress actually wore BUT you get photos of my in my wedding dress (that doesn’t fit me anymore *sad face*), the silver dress & purple dress were worn by my grandmothers to my parent’s wedding.

You can see all my daily frocks on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here until the end of November

Got my frock on!

And as week 3 comes to a close I am so really enjoying frocking up. I’m looking forward to summer and wearing dresses more often. Another THANK YOU for the donations – I’m at $300 of my $1000 goal.

So, we kicked it up a little this week and hubby played photographer for me (except for the 19th when I had a little fun). More dress recycling this week too.


Day 15 Dress by Ripe	Day 16 Dress by Rivers Shirt by Millers	Day 17 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Hess

Day 18 Tshirt by Urban Skirt by Grace Hill Cardi by Capture	Day 19 Dress by Enchantress	Day 20 Dress by Rivers tshirt by mavi Cardi by Sportsgirl

	Day 21 Dress by Mia Rose Top by Vuios

You can keep up to date with my daily frock on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here

Frocktober

According to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF), “one woman dies every ten hours from ovarian cancer in Australia.” For many women with ovarian cancer, the disease is already well advanced when they are first diagnosed. Unfortunately, there is currently no screening test for ovarian cancer.

Frocktober aims to help improve the outlook for women with ovarian cancer by supporting the quest for a suitable early detection test through fundraising for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.*

Keep up to date with my month of frocks and photos.

Donate

*information from Frocktober.org

Still frocking

Week 2 of Frocktober is coming to a close and week 3 is starting. So far you’ve donated $175 toward my $1000 goal. THANK YOU!

This week I was a little lazy and recycled a few frocks from week 1. Like the dress by Luca & Marc, it’s paid for the whole $8 I paid for it at the local Vinnie’s (I seriously love this dress so you’ll probably see it a few more times before the end of the month).

Next week I’ll be doing something apart from selfies, just for a little variety 😉


Day 8 Dress by Millers Cardi by ?	Day 9 Dress by Rivers Cardi by Myer Direct Leggings by Target	Day 10 Dress by Mia Rose Cardi by Sportsgirl

Day 11 Dress by Luca & Marc Shirt by Millers	Day 12 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Hess	Day 13 Dress by Luca & Marc (photo bomb by Miss K)

	Day 14 Skirt by Millers Tshirt by Mavi

You can keep up to date with my daily frock on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here

Frocking it up–week 1

So here we are the end of week 1 of Frocktober. Didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I have but the weather has been reasonably kind (except for yesterday which was rather chilly).

I’d love it if you’d sponsor me (which you can do here) and every little bit helps. All funds raised go to Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF). At present ovarian cancer is commonly diagnosed at advanced stage with only 20-30% of women surviving beyond five years, compared to more that 90% when the disease is detected and treated early.

Early stage ovarian cancer may not have obvious symptoms but the following may occur:
* Vague abdominal pain or pressure
* Feeling of abdominal fullness, gas, nausea, indigestion – different to your normal sensations
* Sudden abdominal swelling, weight gain or bloating
* Persistent changes in bowel or bladder patterns
* Low backache or cramps
* Abnormal vaginal bleeding
* Pain during intercourse
* Unexplained weight loss
The majority of women who experience one or two of these early symptoms do not have cancer. However, it is important that you seek medical advice if the symptoms are unusual or persist. For further information, visit www.ocrf.com.au or call 1300 OVARIAN.

Now onto the dresses


Day 1 Dress by Ripe Leggings by Kmart	Day 2 Dress by Mia Rose Shirt by Millers	Day 3 Dress by Rivers Tshirt by Hess

Day 4 Dress by Millers Cardi by Katies	Day 5 Dress by Mia Rose Shirt by Kmart	Day 6 Dress by Luca & Marc Tshirt by Hess Cardi by Sportsgirl

	Day 7 Skirt by Millers Top by Target Cardi by Katies

You can keep up to date with my daily frock on Photobucket.
You can sponsor me here

Frocktober 2012

Yup, I’m going to take part in Frocktober this year.

For those who don’t know, wikifashion defines Frocktober as:

“Frocktober is a festive fundraising initiative aiming to raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF).Through fun – and sometimes quirky – measures, Frocktober is all about:

* Increasing the public’s awareness of ovarian cancer.
* Promoting women’s health and wellbeing.
* 2Celebrating the great diversity of shapes, sizes and colours women come in.

Essentially, Frocktober puts forward a challenge to girls, women and interested men far and wide:

To don a frock for a day, week, fortnight or a full month during October, and get sponsored for it!

So, be it borrowed, second-hand, vintage, home-made, your granny’s or that great dress you’ve just never had the right occasion to wear… get creative, get it on and get frocking with your sponsorships, all of which will be donated to the OCRF.“

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not much of a dress/skirt wearer. I would have worn trousers to my wedding if I was allowed to (glad I didn’t cause I got to buy the most gorgeous Jeannie Nitro dress to wear).

BUT as it’s helping raise funds for OCRF I’ve decided it’s a damn good cause. We’ve had Ovarian Cancer touch our family recently and anything I can do to help raise awareness about it and raise funds to help research is a good thing in my books.
SO I’m slowly collecting some dresses together – buying new ones, checking to see if old ones fit and asking around to see if anyone wants to donate a dress for me to wear.

If you’d like to donate a dress feel free to email me. I’ll have more details closer to October.

Go Teal

February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian Cancer seems to be one of those cancers that not many people know about or talk about. In Australia, one in 77 women will develop Ovarian Cancer in their lifetime. Every year more than 1200 Australian women are diagnosed and around 800 will die from the disease. On average 3 Australian women are diagnosed every day. Of the women diagnosed 77% are diagnosed at an advanced stage where the cancer has spread and can be difficult to treat successfully. More than half these women will not live beyond five years after their diagnosis. Frightening statistics! BUT if ovarian cancer is diagnosed at an early stage women have an 80% chance of being alive and well after 5 years. Unfortunately there currently is no reliable early detection test or screening for ovarian cancer. Pap smears do not detect ovarian cancer.

This is where Ovarian Cancer Australia can help. Ovarian Cancer Australia are the peak organisation for ovarian cancer in Australia and are the only national organisation in Australia dedicated to raising awareness of the disease, giving support to women (& their families) who are affected and funding the best ovarian cancer research.

The mission of Ovarian Cancer Australia is to:
* Support women with ovarian cancer, their families, friends and carers with compassionate support programs and practical resources.
* Educate communities and individuals about the disease and increase their awareness of symptoms and the latest treatment, research and clinical trials from across Australia.
* Advocate to improve outcomes, treatment and quality of life for women with ovarian cancer.
* Fund innovative and world leading ovarian cancer research.

So what are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?
There are four most commonly reported symptoms
* abdominal or pelvic pain
* increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating
* needing to urinate often or urgently
* difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
Let your doctor know if you have any other symptoms, that are not usual for you, that can include:
* changes in bowel habits
* unexplained weight gain or loss
* vaginal bleeding
* back pain
* indigestion or nausea
*excessive fatigue
Most women with these symptoms will not have ovarian cancer. If you are concerned, see your doctor

How can we help? Hold an Afternoon Teal during February, Individual donations (enabling you to make a donation of a specific amount to a project of your choice, Regular giving (through a monthly direct debit enables you to provide ongoing sponsorship of Ovarian Cancer Australia’s work), Payroll giving (a great way to get you and your workplace involved in regular giving and provides a wide range of benefits for everyone involved), In honour and celebration donations (allowing you to provide a tribute to a woman living with ovarian cancer or can be made in memory of someone special. Celebration donations make a meaningful birthday, anniversary or Christmas gift) or Remembering Ovarian Cancer Australia in your will.

If you’d like to donate, my mum is holding an Afternoon Teal and has given me the link to her donation page. Let’s see how much we can raise to help support this great cause!

ETA – we raised $1000 on Saturday at our Afternoon Teal. An amazing day & thanks to those who donated!

For more information on Ovarian Cancer Australia or to hold your own Morning Teal, go to www.ovariancancer.net.au/