Woman to Woman is a free program that pairs gynecologic cancer patients with professionally trained survivor volunteers who provide one-on-one emotional support and mentoring to women with a new gynecologic cancer diagnosis.
The Woman to Woman program was founded in 2003 at Mount Sinai Hospital in NY. With the funding support of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) and QVC, the program has been expanded to 16 hospitals across the country, with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) as the most recent recipient of this national program.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer mentor, OHSU is conducting their first training program on October 10, 2015. It will be a half-day of training, located in the Center for Women’s Health at OHSU. All ovarian cancer survivors interested in the role of mentorship, are invited to attend this no-cost training day. NOTE: all women trained through the W2W program at OHSU will be matched with other women patients at OHSU.
Volunteers learn active listening, communication skills, and how to address cultural differences. In addition, they receive an overview of gynecologic cancers and the issues associated with them, and gain an understanding of their own relationship to their illness as they prepare to volunteer. These survivor volunteers give hope, along with the special insights that can only come from someone with their own personal gynecologic cancer experience.
Please contact Katharine Hart, by email or phone, if you are interested in attending this program. The program will fill up, so don’t hesitate to sign up. Katharine will provide more detailed information to interested participants about the October 10th program, such as time, location, parking, as the date approaches.
Email Katherine, or call at 503-418-1968.