Association of women with ovarian cancer "JA KA" Osijek

The JA KA Patients' Association was founded in 2016, after I recovered from surgery, when I saw that I had enough strength to continue living. The experience of ovarian cancer, about which I knew almost nothing, opened up new insights into, first of all, my capabilities, strength and will, and then into the ability to do something to start some things in the community. I don't think that the Association has changed any things, but we have certainly, over the nine years of its existence, made ovarian cancer, as strange as it may seem, more visible.

My friends and I founded the Association, first and foremost, to talk about ovarian cancer. The information found on social media certainly doesn't help with sensationalist headlines. Although social media is useful when posts are posted by those who know the disease (not just ovarian cancer), unfortunately, for many, it serves as a means of "venting" personal frustrations.

The number of members of the Association "JA KA" Osijek, as the abbreviated name of the Association is, has never been large. Fortunately, I would say, because there are not many women suffering from it in our area. However, we need to be careful here too. Unfortunately, ovarian cancer is usually a "sluggish" disease, women very often do not recognize the condition of their body, do not go for regular gynecological examinations, ultrasound examinations are not always performed, and then we have the situation we have. The above is the main focus of the Association's work. Through experiential workshops, which we do throughout Slavonia and Baranja, in rural areas, we talk about the importance of regular gynecological examinations. It is through our work in the field that we have raised awareness of the problems that women face in smaller towns. And, by talking about it publicly, we are trying to make a change. During our work with women, we heard that smaller, rural areas do not have gynecologists, that there is no transportation in the wider area, which is why going to the doctor is difficult.

Udruga žena oboljelih od karcinoma jajnika „JA KA“ Osijek, Trg Augusta Šenoe 1, tel. 091 7911003 Veselinka Kastratović

In addition to experiential workshops, the Association "JA KA" Osijek organizes educational workshops for women, where we talk about health, patients' rights, healthy nutrition, the importance of maintaining body motor skills and disease prevention. The activity "60 minutes with doctors over coffee" has been implemented for over six years. A relaxed conversation with doctors gave women, in a familiar environment, the opportunity to ask anything they were interested in. We talked with gynecologists, oncologists, dentists, gastroenterologists. The goal of this activity is to open communication between doctors and patients, to support women in asking questions. Many women are afraid, ashamed, and feel uncomfortable asking doctors, talking about their health with doctors. In this way, we wanted to encourage women, and not only women, to take care of their health.

This year, for the first time, we will organize the "Mustache Movember", a conversation between urologists and men in November. We are already preparing this activity, because we are aware of the prejudices and fears that surround us every day. We are working to raise awareness of the importance of responding to national preventive examinations. Through conversations with women and men, we talk about how important it is to respond to calls, to have examinations, which do not require referrals, and which can save many lives. Our creative workshops resulted in many beautiful items, which, until the outbreak of the corona crisis, we gave to patients of the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics of the KBC Osijek, to beneficiaries of homes for the elderly and disabled, and to children. We organized humanitarian actions to collect hygiene and sanitary supplies for "our Department", the Department of Gynecological Oncology with Intensive Care of the KBC Osijek; we donated books for patients in "our Department", to make their stay at the examinations easier; during Advent, we donated oranges to the Home for the Elderly and Disabled in Osijek; We planted with the users of the "Turquoise Rose Garden" Home. Joint excursions and joint walks are especially important and joyful for the members. Trips to museums and galleries, to theater performances. We include volunteers in our work, we invite citizens to our actions.

Cooperation with related associations of patients is especially important to us, with the Mammae Club Osijek, ColonOs Osijek, the Association "Sve za Nju" from Zagreb, the Association "Nismo same" from Zagreb, city and municipal Red Cross societies, and local administration.