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Medical Advisory Board

Members of Ovacome will be interested to hear that the Committee has set up a Medical Advisory Board to assist with variety of medical issues. The Advisory Board will take on a number of roles:

The objective is to assist the Ovacome Committee and members by providing specialist expertise and advice. The Medical Advisory Board is extremely anxious to avoid acting in an editorial role and ultimately all editorial decisions will remain the remit of the Ovacome Committee.

The following specialists have agreed to be members of the board:

Dr Karina Reynolds, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester
Mr David Parkin, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Dr Ganesh Ganesan, ICRF Medical Oncology Unit, Oxford
Mr John Murdoch, St Michael's Hospital, Bristol
Dr Chris Perrett, Royal Free Hospital, London
Miss Shanti Raju, St Thomas' Hospital, London
Mr Gordon Rustin, Mount Vernon Hospital, Middlesex
Mr Nadeem Siddiqui, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow
Mr John Tidy, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield
Mr Mike Wells, The University of Sheffield, Medical School, Sheffield
Miss Karin Williamson, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham
Dr Malcolm Adams, Velindre Hospital, Cardiff
Mr Ronnie Atkinson, Belfast City Hospital
Dr Des Barton, The Royal Marsden Hospital, London
Mr Laurence Brown, Leicester Royal Infirmary
Ms Frances Calman, St Thomas' Hospital, London
Dr Stephen Chan, Nottingham City Hospital
Mr Robin Crawford, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge
Mr Derek Cruickshank, South Cleveland Hospital, Middlesborough
Mr Arjun Jeyarajah, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London
Mr Sean Kehoe, Birmingham City Hospital
Mr Jonathan Lederman, Royal Free Hospital, London
Mr Rob Woolas, Saint Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth
Mr Jonathan Herod, Liverpool Women's Hospital
Mr Charles Redman, North Staffordshire Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent

I hope very much that the Medical Advisory Board will be of assistance to Ovacome. Debbie Howells has already provided me with a list of suggested articles that will be commissioned from members. Please do let Debbie know if there are any particular topics that you would like to see covered.
Ian Jacobs
Professor of Gynaecological Oncology, St Bartholomew's Hospital
Chairman Medical Advisory Board

 

Unadopted hospitals:
Can you help?

The following hospitals are still unadopted - as far as I know - if anyone feels able to adopt them or would like to discuss what this involves please contact me on 020 8530 4180.
Similarly, if any hospital you visit doesn't know about Ovacome or receive our literature please give me a ring. If you hear of any staff who want to know more about Ovacome or are interested in someone coming to speak I'd also be happy to hear from you.

Many thanks
Ruth Payne
London

 

Tax-efficient Giving

Deed of Covenant
An individual or company agrees to pay a set amount to Ovacome for at least three years (usually four). This payment is net of tax and Ovacome can claim the tax back from the Inland Revenue, e.g. an individual donates £75 per annum to Ovacome, Ovacome can then claim a further £25 from the Inland Revenue, this being the tax deducted from the individual at source.
For a form to set up a covenant, please send a stamped addressed envelope to David Grant,
18 Pentreath Avenue, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5TA.

Gift Aid
If you don't want to commit to regular payments to Ovacome, Gift Aid is a way for us to reclaim from the Inland Revenue the tax paid on a single donation. The donation must be a minimum of £250 and accompanied by a Gift Aid Certificate. A gift of £250 with a Gift Aid Certificate from basic rate taxpayer would allow Ovacome to claim a further £83 from the Inland Revenue.
Again, if you would like a Gift Aid Certificate, please send a stamped addressed envelope to David at the above address.
Webmasters note: We have received several E-mails that suggest that Gift Aid is now possible for any sum of money

Charities Aid Foundation
The CAF Charity Account works like a bank account. Individuals can open an account, pay money into that account via covenant, Gift Aid or Give as You Earn and the CAF reclaims the tax paid at 25% and adds that into the account. Individuals get a charity card and a cheque book, so they can make donations (gross of tax) to the charity or charities of their choice.

For more details contact CAF at Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA, telephone 01732 520000.

Give as You Earn
Many companies operate a payroll giving scheme. The employer deducts money from an employee's pay and passes it to an agency, who in turn passes the money to the charity of your choice, before PAYE tax is deducted. The donation is therefore paid gross. The maximum an individual can give in one year is £900.
Contact your employer for an application form if they operate this scheme.


More thanks

Many congratulations and even more thanks to Maria Remnant who ran the marathon for Ovacome and raised £2000 to help us continue our work.
And also to the Chalgrove Chuggers who raised over £2300 for us by their four-mile charity run on 28th December. Maggie Lee is one of our members and also a member of the Chuggers.
All ages were able to participate either by running, walking, pushing children in wheelbarrows or riding their bicycles. Thanks for your hard work and very generous donation.

 

Part Time Ovacome Administrators

Vacancies exist for Ovacome administrators

Duties will include general charity administration, database work, telephone response, as well as practical support of the charity's committee

Successful candidates should have the following qualities:

To discuss the role further please contact Frances Hodges, Alex Whates or Louise Bayne via the Ovacome office

 

Australia's first ovarian cancer rally

Australia's first ovarian cancer rally was held in Melbourne on 6th February 2000. This was the culmination of the first phase of Sheila Lee's ovarian cancer (OvCa) awareness campaign. Sheila was diagnosed with OvCa in February 1999. Since that time, Sheila and her husband Simon have researched and campaigned to bring to the public's attention the plight of sufferers, and the lack of an early detection test. The rally attracted some 400 people concerned about the poor outlook for most ovarian cancer patients, and saw the launch of The OvCa Appeal by the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria.

Speaking at the rally and supporting Sheila and Simon were Mr Robert Rome, gynaecological oncologist of the Freemasons Medical Centre, Melbourne, and Ovacome's chairwoman, Louise Bayne.

Sheila spoke of the appalling statistics, the urgent need for awareness, and for research funding for an early detection method for this lethal and neglected cancer. Robert Rome supported that need and emphasised the tremendous differences that can be made if cancers can be caught in early stages. Louise Bayne told of the work of Ovacome in the UK and supported and welcomed the initiative in Australia.

As a result of Sheila's campaigning, Professor Robert Burton, Director of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, announced the launch of The OvCa Appeal. The Appeal aims to raise $1.5 million over three years. The State and Federal governments will also be asked to make considerable contributions. This fund will be used primarily for vital medical research to find an early detection test for ovarian cancer, and also for education and support programs for women with ovarian cancer, their families and friends.

Professor Burton also announced the formation of the Ovarian Cancer Collaborative Research Group, which is being established to bring together world-class scientists and OvCa clinicians to design and undertake collaborative research to improve the survival of women with ovarian cancer by trying to find an early detection test.

After the talks, a painting dedication ceremony was held. Guests were invited to paint in acrylic on three large canvases - artistic guests added such items as trees, flowers, suns, stars, etc., and many wrote names of loved ones - a much enjoyed activity and a lasting tribute to many OvCa sufferers.
During this time also, attendees mingled amongst the stalls, bought teal ribbons on symptom cards for $2 and so made the first donations to The OvCa Appeal. Many volunteered to become OvCa Friends, by agreeing to give some of their time to The Appeal, by making financial contributions, by organising a special event or selling OvCa ribbons.

Further information about many aspects of ovarian cancer can be found at Sheila and Simon's website, http://ovca.org/



Coffee morning raises £735 on Ovacome day

I am really thrilled to be able to send the enclosed cheques for £735 raised as a result of a coffee morning held on Ovacome Day.

My family and some friends wanted to help my husband and I do so something to raise money for Ovacome, and having decided on a coffee morning, we hired the village hall, placed posters all around, circulated the houses with leaflets and advertised on local radio.

We had cakes/preserves, bric-a-brac, gifts and a raffle - all twenty raffle prizes were donated. There were so many delicious cakes and pies we never thought we would sell them all - but we did. It was a beautiful sunny morning - so many people came and they were all very generous, it was all good publicity for Ovacome, which most had never heard of. It was such a happy occasion and far more successful than we had anticipated.

We were especially pleased to be able to do this as last year we had hoped to raise some money but I had to have a second course of chemotherapy and wasn't feeling well enough. Thankfully I am feeling very well at the moment and it has been so good to do this for Ovacome as we have been greatly helped and encouraged by your newsletter and to have the support you offer.

I realise you probably have far too much material each quarter for the newsletter, but if the result of the coffee morning could be published it might be an encouragement to others.
With best wishes for your continued success.
Wendy Rawlings
Dorset

Editor's note: I could not agree more - £735 from a coffee morning is an incredible achievement - well done to all concerned and many thanks again for your very generous donation.

 

Gardner helps charity blossom

Professional gardener Glenys Ayris was lucky enough last autumn to see for herself the breathtaking Renaissance gardens of Tuscany.

On Ovacome Day she helped Sheila Wilkes, one of our tireless fundraisers, to hold an evening to help to raise more funds for our cause. She wanted to raise money for Ovacome to thank Sheila's sister and husband for opening their garden last year to help raise the extra funds required to help with her visit to Tuscany. She said "it felt appropriate to raise funds on national Ovacome day as both my family and Wendy's have been touched by ovarian cancer." Glenys is herself a member of Ovacome as her mother is an ovarian cancer sufferer.

She gave a talk to many Yorkshire gardeners on her insight into the fantastic gardens and their history and also showed some slides from the gardens. She showed that the Italian use of structure and ornaments could be adapted quite simply to the average family sized garden. She was struck by the fact that many of the gardens she visited were under threat of closure, unlike in the UK where we have the National Trust to preserve our gardens.

The evening was extremely successful and Sheila also used the evening to sell Ovacome merchandise and was amazed at the turnout. She would like to say thanks to everyone who attended and all of us at Ovacome would like to thanks to Sheila for yet another donation of £480 to help us continue our work. She is an inspiration to us all as she is continuing to fund-raise etc. whilst undergoing treatment - well done Sheila.


If Only . . .

I often find myself these days thinking about how much money could be raised for Ovacome "if only".
For instance: Ovacome has over 3,000 members if only 10% of our members (300 members relatives and friends) were to raise £100 pounds each, we would be better off by £30,000 (that is if my maths are correct, as you may know its not my strongest point).

Therefore:

and so on . . . It seems so simple doesn't it?

With this in mind I've been thinking "if only" I can encourage my friends to join in the FLORA LIGHT CHALLENGE FOR WOMEN in Hyde Park on the 16th July, and they encourage their friends to join in (I'm aiming for 100 women) then 50% of the entrance fee of £10 will be donated to Ovacome, raising £500 (for doing nothing!), hopefully they may also be able to get sponsorship as well. I can hear you all saying "I couldn't run to save my life! But I'd do anything else, well you can, it's a walk as well! So this is a message not just for members who need all their energy getting better, but for the sisters, aunts, mums, daughters, friends and grandmas who can do something.

So, we've got two months to get our act together, for the walkers amongst you, walk a mile three times a week, this will be really easy for dog walkers!, and increase this to two miles over the months, by the time July is here you'll be as fit as a fiddle!

For the more athletic, if you've never run before start by jogging up the road or around the block twice a week, gradually increasing the distance. Yes I know your heart will be pounding, your lungs will feel like they're exploding and your legs will feel like jelly AT FIRST, but IT WILL GET BETTER and think how great you'll feel.

For those of you who live further afield and can't join us in Hyde Park, why not organise an event closer to home? Contact me at the office for further information. But if you'd like to join in the FUN in Hyde Park, I know you won't regret it. Contact the office for entrance forms. Let's all wear our Ovacome T-shirts wherever we are and show Britain that "THE WOMEN OF OVACOME ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH" let's really get our name on the map!

The Annual General Meeting is on the 8th July in Birmingham just one week before the event, so lets meet up and discuss pre-event tactics!
I look forward to meeting you.
Frances Hodges

 


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