SUMMARY:
COVID-19 has added additional challenges and burdens for people facing bladder cancer. Being diagnosed with cancer (and receiving treatment) is difficult at the best of times, but the social and emotional implications intensify when the typical supports are inaccessible or unavailable altogether.
Join us for our upcoming webinar, Coping with Bladder Cancer and COVID with Resilience and F.L.A.R.E. on Thursday, December 17 from 7:00-8:30 PM ET.
Attendees of this online event will learn strategies and resources to help cope with the pandemic for the long-term, and the uncertainty of appointments and treatments being delayed or cancelled as result. For some, the challenges will be compounded by the approaching holiday season. We’ll also highlight some of the psychosocial issues that have been addressed in our support groups, and how these online meetings might be right for you.
Our featured presenter, Claire Edmonds, is a registered psychotherapist who has worked exclusively in oncology for over 30 years, with both patients and caregivers, at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. She was a member of the research team that developed the Healing Journey Program, a coping skills course for patients and caregivers. She now works in the community, predominantly at Wellspring Cancer Support Centres across Canada, as well as other non- profit cancer organizations.
She will be joined by Bette Thom, a retired social worker. During her forty-year career in health care, she has marveled at the capacity of the human spirit to not only survive, but thrive, under seemingly insurmountable obstacles. She is an 8-year bladder cancer survivor and has been volunteering with Bladder Cancer Canada in various capacities (including Support Group Lead, Peer Support Volunteer and on the Edmonton Walk Committee) since 2013.
