The Ovacome Support Service
0845 371 0554
One of the most important and unique services that Ovacome offers is the Support Line.
One of the founding principles of Ovacome was to provide information and support as well as to bring people together to talk to others in a similar situation. When Ovacome was first established in 1996 the Support Line was run by Ovacome staff from their homes on a rota basis. The Support Line continued to develop having an official base in the first Ovacome office at Barts Hospital in 2000. Roles specific to the Support Line were then established with registered nurses taking calls.
The Support Line has evolved to what it is today - a service staffed by registered health professionals offering information and emotional support to women, their families, friends, carers as well as health professionals. The Support Line is usually open 5 days a week from 10am to 5pm, however the service may be closed occasionally during these times for operational reasons or because of staff shortage.
Although we are not able to offer medical advice, many callers say they are pleased to be able to speak to a healthcare professional not involved in their care. Some people call to request Ovacome factsheets, others for emotional support and some for a good old chat.
The sorts of calls received cover many aspects of ovarian cancer and can range from questions about signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatments to clinical trials.
(The cost of calling 0845 numbers can vary according to your provider, your tariff and when you are calling. Check with your own provider for details. From BT domestic landlines the call may be free or may cost up to 7.6p per minute with a set up charge of up to 11.5p. From landlines on a standard BT business tariff with no special call package, calls cost 3.36p+VAT. Calls to 0845 numbers from mobiles cost considerably more so if you are using a mobile you may wish to call our alternative number +44 20 7299 6650)
support@ovacome.org.uk
Did you know that you can also get support and information via email? Just email us at support@ovacome.org.uk and one of our support line nurses will reply.
If you email we will try our hardest to get back to you within one working day. All emails are treated as confidential and you do not have to give us any identifying details about yourself. if you would like to set up an anonymous email account to contact us with this can be done easily at www.gmail.com.
What are the benefits of emailing?
You can send your email at any time, day or night.
Getting your concerns down in black and white is sometimes useful in itself by helping to clarify your thoughts.
If talking to someone is hard or makes you emotional it might be easier for your to correspond by email.
