[2023-09-03] Walk of Hope and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September has a way of sneaking up on me. Before I know it, it's the beginning of the month, and I'm turning the page in my calendar.

One of my most important commitments in September is Ovarian Cancer Canada's Walk of Hope, which will take place on Sunday, September 10, just one week from today.
  • If you'd like to participate in the walk, join me at Andrew Haydon Park at 3127 Carling Avenue in Nepean (in the west end of Ottawa). You can register for the walk as early as 8:30 AM. Opening ceremonies will take place between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. And the Walk will begin at 10:00 AM. As an ovarian cancer survivor, I will be wearing a teal T-shirt. And I'll sport my neon green baseball cap, as I did last year.
  • If you'd like to donate to my walk, you can visit my Walk of Hope fundraising page.
  • If you'd like to support me and the cause in another way, watch for my social media posts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram and like or share them. This will help to raise awareness about ovarian cancer.
If you're participating in the walk yourself, please say hi.

September is also Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In response to my post Three years after ovarian cancer surgery, a friend recently wrote to me: "I’m surprised how frequently I now hear about women who’ve had ovarian cancer ever since you were first diagnosed. Fortunately it still isn’t too many, but even a couple of the women who were playing at the Women’s World Cup this last month had been treated for ovarian cancer." I recalled having read the story of Colombian soccer player Linda Caicedo, who—at 18—was playing in the Women's World Cup just a few years after having been diagnosed with and treated for ovarian cancer.

It's my experience that we are more likely to notice a famous person's diagnosis with a given disease when we know someone who has personally faced the same illness. So there is value in both types of stories—those of the well known and those of the little known.

Related posts about ovarian cancer awareness and symptoms of the disease: