This morning, as I lounged in bed, I found myself scrolling through Instagram. Before I knew it, I had spent 20 minutes, mindlessly admiring the visuals of various posts. But this wasn't just idle surfing: I was captivated by my own Instagram content. I loved the visuals, some of which reminded me of sweet moments that I had forgotten, such as making pizza with my great niece, Elsie. Others brought to mind a person or situation, and I would immediately recall why I had written a certain post. One of the visuals that I liked in particular contained a quote from Serena Williams, which is especially pertinent on this week in which we celebrate International Women's Day: "The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up."

A friend who has been a tremendous support through my ovarian cancer journey mentioned to me today that she sometimes gets sad because her kids are sensitive and their feelings can easily be hurt. Her two kids—a 13-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl—are amazing. They've painted rocks for me, delivered Halloween decorations to my door, and sent me best wishes in cards throughout my treatment. While their mom knew me before I got cancer, they did not. Their concern for me is remarkable. In responding to my friend, I acknowledged that I can imagine how they might not understand why others are mean or rude. But I believe that their empathy and kindness will serve them well in life.

When I make the effort to learn and use the name of nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, they connect with me in a way that I don't believe they would have if I had not used their name. And that deeper connection always made me feel less alone at a time when COVID so often prevented my having a loved one with me during treatments and appointments.

Perhaps the most exciting thing to share is that my hair is beginning to regrow. My head feels like a fuzzy peach. I have what look like black smudges where my eyebrows belong. My eyelashes are returning, which means that my eyelids no longer stick together when I squeeze my eyes—sticky eyes is a thing when you have no eyelashes.

— Erin Hanson

In 2018, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition published its Every Woman Study, reflecting the experiences of women with ovarian cancer from around the world. Of the 1,531 women who completed the study, 66% had not heard of ovarian cancer or knew nothing about it before their diagnosis. This is sad, though not surprising. Personally, while I had heard of ovarian cancer before my own diagnosis in July 2020, I knew very little about the disease. I didn't know that there is no reliable screening test for ovarian cancer. I didn't know that this lack of screening coupled with the disease's very generic symptoms mean that most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are already in the later stages of the illness. And I didn't know that ovarian cancer is the most lethal of the female cancers.

Many of us can probably recall a relationship with a healthcare professional or a particular discussion that provided reassurance when we needed it. Even in my short discussion with the nurse after my post-operative visit, I felt that we had connected as two people, not simply as healthcare professional and patient. She felt like a champion.

"You matter. You are enough. You are capable of making a difference. Just as you are, in this very moment, you are worthy of a beautiful life, and you are loved."

— Love Powered Femme: I Am Affirmation Cards

According to the study's director, Dr. Robert Waldinger, our relationships and how happy we are in them have a powerful influence on our health. The psychiatrist adds that while taking care of our bodies is important, tending to our relationships is also a form of self-care.

No matter where we go in life—school, work, volunteer teams, community groups, our own families—it is so comforting to feel we belong, to know we are valued, to believe we are accepted exactly as we are.

Visuals are more memorable than words. [Marketer Karla] Gutierrez explains that words are processed by our short-term memory and if the words are not linked to an image, they will go in one ear and out the other. Visuals, on the other hand, go directly to long-term memory. People will retain only 10-20% of ideas communicated through written or spoken words, but 65% of ideas communicated through visuals.

In the years since [the launch of the Take Me With You campaign], the idea has been implemented in many federal departments and agencies. As Steph [Percival] writes in her post, it isn’t about encouraging people to attend more meetings; it's about encouraging them to attend the right meetings. Moreover, Take Me With You can be a way to promote inclusion, says Steph, both to ensure that employees from diverse backgrounds have a voice at the table and to take advantage of the talent the federal government has across Canada.

But it can be very difficult to silence the critics in our minds. I've always made use of mantras to quell destructive voices. In a recent conversation, my daughter and I came up with this countering statement: "Unkind people are not welcome at my table." We could repeat the statement any time the nasty voice started spewing their venom.