Settling in!

The entire staff at the Cancer Foundation was tremendously proud to arrive at our new home on Monday morning. We were greeted with home-baked scones and other celebratory morning goodies. Linda gave the staff a tour of the entire facility. For some of us it was the first time in months that we had been in the centre and every turn of the corner (there are many corners) brought more ohs and aws. We settled into our individual work stations, learned how the new phones worked and got down to business.

There are a few finishing touches to complete, but things are progressing well and we are very fortunate to be in such a wonderful space.

On Friday, July 15 we will be welcoming Estrellita Karsh who has presented the Cancer Foundation with a original Yousuf Karsh portrait of Helen Keller and her long-time companion, Polly Thompson. It's a wonderful gift to the Centre and fits in so well with what we are trying to achieve at the cancer survivorshop centre. We aim to provide the community with the resources, tools and information they need putting recovery back in the hands of cancer survivors and their families. Guidance and wisdom -- those things resonate through the Karsh portrait. 

Stay tuned for more information about the grand opening this fall.



       

NIght of Courage a resounding success

A NIGHT OF COURAGE

Ottawa's partying young people got the cancer message on Friday night.

Homegrown NHLers Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers and Martin St. Pierre of the Columbus Blue Jackets joined ORCF's Chuck Merovitz and Max Keeping in a midnight nightclub blitz to spread the word that cancer shows no bias on age. Breast and testicular cancers particularly hit the 20-something demographic.

The unique event was the brainchild of Abbis Mahmoud, owner of Urban Male Magazine, and longtime nightclub owner in Ottawa and Toronto. He led the cancer messengers to his clubs - Lobby, Mansion, and Union Station, where cover charge, raffles and donations were given to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.  Two other nightclubs, Tila Tequila and Buddha Bar Lounge, participated in the fundraising/awareness promotion. All bar staff wore "COURAGE" shirts. 

Earlier, Abbis Mamoud hosted a Next Generation cocktail reception in his Byward Market condo - where Chuck and Max spoke of the cancer Foundation's Survivorship focus, and the Maplesoft Centre which will open to the public in the fall.  The thousands of dollars raised by Mahmoud's Night of Courage will be directed to the programs at the Centre. Merovitz is a tireless fundraising leader for the Cancer Foundation, who spearheaded development of the Ottawa Cancer Survivor's Park. Keeping is founding co-chair of the Alterna Do It For Dad walk/run - and is a cancer survivor.

A night of Courage

On Friday, July 8, Urban Male Magazine(UMM), Canada’s Best Selling Men’s Magazine, is holding the first official A Night of COURAGE.  It’s one night dedicated to raising important funding in support of Cancer Survivorship Care programming at the Maplesoft Centre. 

It's a perfect example of how local businesses are joining the fight for cancer survivorship. Their efforts are helping reach a new generation of donor.

On July 8, 100% of Cover Charge, Donations and Silent Auction proceeds from the UMM establishments listed below will benefit ‘A Night of Courage’

LOBBY  Nightclub @ 158 ½ Dalhousie St.

Tila Tequila Nightclub @ 104 Clarence St.

Buddha Bar Lounge @ 104B Clarence St.

Mansion @ 400A Dalhousie St.

Union Station Pub Club @ 360 Elgin St.

I hope many of you will join in on a night on the town and a night of courage. 
 

You could feel the energy

It was amazing to be part of the 13th edition of the Alterna Do It for Dad Family Run and Walk. Not only was there record participation and money raised, but you could feel this positive energy ripple through the entire site. It's a unique running event. Given it's Father's Day, you have all generations represented from babies in strollers to the 70+ who actually ran the race. Over two thousand people participated in this year's event topping last year's number by over 500. It was such a beautiful day in Ottawa -- sunny, little wind, no humidity and a celebratory feeling that had everyone smiling.

It was a sea of grey Do It For Dad t-shirts -- 56 corporate teams, 49 family teams and waves of individual participants. Max Keeping, one of the founders of this event and such a powerful community ambassador led the formal presentations with his warm and familiar voice. Greg Herbert and Team greggybear were front and centre having raised over $72,000. Just about everyone in that crowd has been touched directly or indirectly by cancer and that's a powerful incentive to get involved and contribute.

Together we are making a difference one victory at a time.
 

Two more sleeps until Do It For Dad

The Cancer Foundation offices have been buzzing all week as staff get set for this weekend's Alterna Do It For Dad Family Run and Walk. We are looking at a record number of participants this year -- nearly 2,000. We added a new 5 km walk this year that has proven really popular. We already had the 2 km family walk, but I think people wanted a little more exercise without necessarily running. 

The Alterna Do It For Dad is by far one of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation's biggest fundraisers and we are lucky to have some great sponsors to support us especially Alterna as our title sponsor. This year, the money raised is going to help fund a very cool robotic surgery system called the Da Vinci surgical system. In a nutshell, it will minimize surgeries, reduce recovery time and shorten hospital stays and those are all very good things.

Anyone who has ever been involved in organizing an event of this size can appreciate the work that goes into the backend. I have to give a very big shout out to our event planning team and all of the Cancer Foundation staff, for putting together what looks to be a fantastic event. It even looks like Mother Nature is going to cooperate which is always a bonus.  

It's not too late to join in and Do It For Dad. You can still register on event day starting at 6:30 a.m.

Staff members at the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation are looking forward to moving into the new Cancer Survivorship Centre on Alta Vista Drive that is nearing completion. They are even more excited about what it will mean for cancer survivors in the region and their families. 

The 11,634 square foot home, located adjacent to the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park, is about to transform cancer care in our region. It has been designed with the comfort and care of cancer survivors and their families in mind. The idea was to create an attractive, warm and inviting environment where survivors could access services often overlooked or simply not covered in traditional cancer care. Dozens of workshops and programs will be offered free of charge and without referral dealing with all sorts of issues from eating right, to dealing with financial issues, to improving the quality of sleep and even music therapy.

Many of these programs are being offered right now. You can visit the Cancer Foundation website to see what workshops and programs are available and to register.

The Cancer Foundation broke ground on this innovative centre in 2010 and it’s exciting to be near the end of the construction.  Many professionals were consulted before and during the construction of the home resulting in details that will make a significant difference — things like radiant floor heating, fully-equipped teaching kitchen, zero VOC paints, cozy fireplace, lots of energy-efficient windows resulting in tons of natural light, and a carpet system that involves no glue or harsh chemicals.

 

Stay tuned for more information and pictures as the Cancer Survivorship Centre progresses.

Where do you go from here?

As we continue to attend appointments and have blood work/tests every couple of months, our thoughts turn to the future.

We are happy that Andy’s health is returning to normal, and that we are able to live our life with some sense of normalcy again. We always still feel a little funny when we get to the Cancer Centre for appointments, but that may always be there.

But we are living for the now and having a great time as a family.

We are also turning our thoughts to giving back. It was an honour blogging for the Ottawa Cancer Foundation this week, and I thank you for reading along.

The Alterna Do it For Dad Walk and Run on Father’s day will be a perfect way for us to celebrate Andy’s health and we look forward to participating. I hope you consider it too.

Our future is bright but we can’t take our health for granted. It’s surprising how quickly circumstances can change.

Wishing you and your family good health.