Health in Focus: Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - Survivors Teaching Students

[OvacomeSupport]

Hello everyone

As March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in the UK, in this month’s Health in Focus posts we’re exploring some of the approaches to raising awareness of ovarian cancer, in particular the signs and symptoms. Today, we’re looking more closely at Ovacome’s Survivors Teaching Students (STS) programme, which raises awareness of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer among medical, nursing and other clinical students.

At each STS session, volunteer ovarian cancer survivors tell the story of their diagnosis, treatment and living with ovarian cancer and answer questions from the students. Ovacome also gives a presentation to raise awareness and asks the students to answer questions about what they have learned during the session.

Personal stories are a powerful way of sharing information, including the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and the experiences of those diagnosed. The main aim of the programme is that, when the students are practising clinicians, they will remember the people they saw telling their stories.

This will help them to consider ovarian cancer when they see a patient with possible symptoms and investigate, leading to earlier diagnosis. Hearing the perspectives of those diagnosed can also help them to understand the needs and wishes of their future patients. Students who have attended STS sessions have told us:

"The session made the symptoms far more memorable."

"It is much more effective than a Powerpoint lecture. I will remember it better!"

"It is easy to read about symptoms in a book but to have them described by women in this way will remain with me far more."

"It is something to always consider - women are often shunted towards the gastrointestinal department because of non-specific symptoms. It is important to communicate possibilities with patients."

"It has been very good to hear individual experiences, showing the impact of the disease on a person. I will also now know to look for support groups to recommend to patients."

Ovacome has been running STS since 2014. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme has been running online, with a filmed presentation followed by an interactive webinar. This has enabled the programme to reach students around the country and volunteers to participate no matter where they live.

If you would be interested in becoming a STS volunteer, please contact Ruth at [e-mail]. Ruth will ask you to write your story and help you to get it ready to present. When there is a suitable opportunity for you to take part in a session, Ruth will get in touch to invite you. This will depends on the students’ timetables.

If you have taken part in STS or would like to share your experiences of raising awareness of ovarian cancer, please comment on this post. If there is anything that we can help with, please contact us on 0800 008 7054 or at [e-mail].

Best wishes

Julia

Ovacome Support