A patient from Sussex has spearheaded the launch of the first ovarian cancer peer support group in Chichester, providing a safe and supportive space for women to share experiences, ask questions and build connections with others facing the same diagnosis.
Every year, 7,400 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK [Target Ovarian Cancer]. One of those women is Georgie Pearson-Gee, 71 from Chichester, who was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer in March 2022.
Reflecting on receiving her diagnosis, Georgie said: “You go into shock like a rabbit in head lights. Then you start going through the medical process, and you think you’re going to die and how long have I got. That’s the emotional reaction. Then you find out the best thing to do, best treatment, and where to go. Then you get into the groove, chemotherapy, an operation, radiotherapy. That took me just over a year.”
The mother of one underwent surgery in Portsmouth and has since received treatment at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester which she describes as a “blessing.”
Georgie continues to undergo regular three-monthly monitoring due to the nature of ovarian cancer and because her cancer had previously spread. After almost three years of clear scans and results, a routine check revealed her cancer markers had risen, leading to a further course of chemotherapy she’s set to finish soon.
Finding support
In the earlier stages of her cancer journey, Georgie experienced feelings of isolation and struggled to find others who truly understood what she was going through.
Georgie explains: “[A support group] is something I knew I would have liked to have had to talk to people, get encouragement and ask questions. No other people were going through it that I knew at that time and so I felt isolated and alone and needed someone to talk to. I just didn’t know where to go.
“I realised most [Target Ovarian Cancer] support groups were in the North of England and the nearest was in London, so I felt very called to set this up.
“Within three miles of where I live, there were four cases that I knew of. I thought, gosh if there was four including me, how many more are there coping with this!”
Making it happen
Determined to make a difference for others, Georgie partnered with national charity Target Ovarian Cancer, which helps run lottery-funded peer support groups across the country. Despite a network of groups elsewhere, there had previously been no dedicated ovarian cancer support group south of London.
Working alongside the charity, Georgie partnered with her clinical team at University Hospitals Sussex, who were “kind and supportive” of the project and equally committed to enhancing patient experience beyond the hospital walls. Their support helped make it possible for more people diagnosed with ovarian cancer to access meaningful wellbeing support and connect with others facing similar challenges.
Instrumental to the group’s launch was Macmillan Clinical Support Worker, Paula Walters, who helped raise awareness among patients, ensuring more people could benefit from the comfort, reassurance and shared experiences it could provide.
Paula said: “It was such a privilege to work with Georgie and support her to help set up this amazing group, and to be there in person at the launch, seeing the ladies that attended with a cuppa and chatting away supporting each other.”
Georgie’s efforts include reaching out to GP practices in the local area to ensure women living with ovarian cancer are aware of the support available to them.
The group officially launched in September and meet monthly at CancerWise in Chichester, a local charity that offers support and information to patients affected by cancer, along with their families and carers.
The first meeting received positive feedback, with one attendee saying: “It was lovely to meet everyone, until yesterday I had not met anyone with ovarian cancer and was feeling totally alone. It was a great chat with such positive people and moving forward I am really looking forward to our next time.”
Reflecting on the first gathering as volunteer facilitator, Georgie said: “I was quite surprised how few people had been able to talk about their cancer to others before, including their family, and no one knew anyone else who had ovarian cancer.
“For them to find other people who have gone through the same thing was really positive. To be able to speak to someone with the exact same cancer as you, allows you understand each other. For them to step out and come [to the group] was a big thing and they walked away having had a positive experience of meeting others in the same boat.”
With funding secured, future sessions will include activities such as arts & crafts, mindfulness and wellbeing workshops, with members helping shape the programme based on their own interests and needs.
Looking ahead
For Georgie, the group represents more than a local achievement, she said: “I hope that other people from other areas will be inspired to set up their own groups. It would be wonderful to have ovarian cancer peer support groups across the whole of the south coast, so that nobody has to face this diagnosis feeling alone.”
Anyone interested in joining the support group or finding out more can contact Pamela Walker, Target Ovarian Cancer Project Lead, at [email protected] or call 07903 311616.