Ovarian Cancer Canada has balls, #ladyballs that is

 

A campaign by Ovarian Cancer Canada has gotten people talking by using the attention grabbing hashtag #ladyballs on social media.

Some people who feel the campaign is a little distasteful and unnecessary have taken to Twitter to express their concern.   One Twitter user, @BeryleChambers said, “I’m one of the woman who find the term lady balls crass and offensive.”

Cailey Crawford, regional director at Ovarian Cancer Canada is excited about the reaction the campaign is getting.

“I am thrilled with the attention the campaign is receiving. Ovarian cancer is too often overlooked and underdiagnosed,” said Crawford.  “Finally the discussion about ovaries is happening outside doctors offices and in the public sphere.  We see this as progress.”

An OCC survey showed that 91 per cent of Canadians are undereducated when it comes to ovarian cancer.   Ovarian Cancer Canada wants to create a new way into the conversation about reproductive health.   OCC wants to spark conversations and invite anyone to give the person next to them a nudge and say, “hey did you see this?”

Matt Miggins, a nursing student at St. Clair College said people who are offended by the campaign are focusing on the wrong thing.

“They are not mad five women a day die from this?  I find it ironic that they are mad about words. People should be mad at the fact this is happening to our mothers, sisters and wives,” said Miggins.

Miggins said he thinks people should put things into perspective.

“People need to ask themselves, if the word balls saves just one life, is it then worth it?”

Marketing and social media experts agree this is a clever way to get people talking but hope it will gain enough ground to attract financial donations for OCC.

“The campaign is quite clever and people are talking about it.  As long as it creates action I don’t think it is a bad thing,” said Yvonne Pilon, St. Clair College instructor of Social Media Aggregation and CEO at WETech Alliance.

Pilon says that sometimes with campaigns there is lack of action after.  She believes after people talk about it and learn about it there is still a need for financial action.

“The next piece needs to be about action and really encouraging a donation base,” said Pilon  “With campaigns like this you have to keep in mind that it is also about the eyeballs and getting key people to join the conversation to make it go viral.”

Ovarian cancer is extremely hard to diagnose and the symptoms can be easily confused with those of less serious conditions. Some common symptoms are frequent urination, abdominal pain and bloating.   According to a survey done by OCC, one in three Canadians incorrectly believe there is a reliable screening test for ovarian cancer but there is currently not a test for this disease.

“Trust that you know your body and if you notice anything out of the ordinary, advocate for your health,” Crawford urges.  “If you notice new symptoms that persist for three weeks or longer, please speak with your doctor.”

Ovarian Cancer Canada has seen a sustained spike in calls from women and concerned family members looking for information and support, that Crawford attributes to the #ladyballs campaign.