This past year was another unprecedented one for all of us as we were still coping with the pandemic and trying to find some semblance of normal. At Be the Choice, we’ve always said that patients need us. As we witnessed surgeries and treatments being delayed, we knew this was truer now than ever before.
For this reason, we dedicated time and effort to improving the site and reaching out to patients and their families. We are extremely proud to have reached over 27,000 users through the Be the Choice website!
As we wrap up 2021, we would like to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished this year…
- We were featured as one of the first Clinician and Patient Resources on the Canadian Society of Surgical Oncology website (Ok maybe this was the end of 2020, but we’re still celebrating! Check it out — https://www.csso.surgery/clinician-and-patient-resources)
- We kicked off the year with our Executive Director and Co-Founder, Dr. Melanie Adrian being awarded the Order of Ontario — the province’s highest civilian honour.
- We collaborated with students from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, Selam Ogbalidet, Mina Boshra, and Melanie Grondin to conduct a pilot study that evaluates the usefulness of the Decision Trees for patients with breast cancer who are undergoing breast reconstruction
- We added additional resources to the Decision Trees to provide patients with even more information on their treatment pathways.
- We expanded our presence on social media to Instagram! (If you’re not following us there yet— check it out! @BTC.DecisionTree)
- We spoke at the Harvard Club of Ottawa on Consent and the Public Health Care System in Canada
- We welcomed new team members (Have you met Morgan Dekker and Stacey Smydo yet??)
- We featured Maria Heck, our hilarious guest-blogger, Owner of The Breast & Chest Buddy and The Port-a-Pal
- Sarah MacFarlane lent her talents and wrote a behind-the-scenes peak on Maria Heck, our guest blogger
- We were featured on The Centre for Health and Innovation
Thank you to our amazing community for providing constant support and enabling us to succeed–we truly wouldn’t be here without you all! We would like to wish you all a happy and healthy 2022, and we look forward to even more growth as an organization.
Love,
Your BTC Fam
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Looking to get involved?
We are constantly looking for new opportunities and talent – whether it be a guest blogger to share their breast cancer journey, a volunteer to help us with events, donations to improve The Decision Trees, a new method to promote the tool, etc…!
We’re always looking for new ways to collaborate with our community and expand our reach. If you have any ideas, please reach out at superfolks@bethechoice.org.
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