January 2009 – Hysterectomy Association Newsletter

Welcome to 2009 and I hope that the New Year brings health, happiness and prosperity to everyone. And …… here is the very latest newsletter from The Hysterectomy Association. Once again, I have promised (and failed) to deliver a monthly newsletter. But, this year it is one of my resolutions to ensure that they occur more frequently as I receive so many requests for them during the course of the year.

New Look Website

As you know, last year we re-launched the website and throughout the year we have been making improvements to it’s look, feel and usability. One of the biggest changes has been to integrate a brand new shopping cart, which is much easier to use than the one we had previously. Our shopping cart system is also based in the UK finally and thereby complies with all the distance selling regulations that the UK require of us.

Do let me know what you think about the site though, and whether there is anything we might add or could be doing better. Our development is normally kick started by the suggestions of all our friends and users.

Request for Help – Advisory Group

As you know, the association exists to provide information first and foremost. However, over the years a number of other suggestions have been made, but as we are such small group running it, it is often difficult to make these decisions. As a result of this, the time has come to look at forming an Advisory Group of people who would be willing to invest a little time to helping us to develop the association in ways that are more meaningful for the users.

If you think you might like to be involved in this group then please do let me know by email and I will send you some more information about what we are aiming for, the sorts of skills and experience we need and how we expect it to work.

Research

The next item on the agenda is our latest research. Those of you who have been around for more than 12 months will remember that last year we did a quick survey about post hysterectomy experiences. Well you can click to see the results here.

We have also launched two new surveys which are designed to run for 12 months. We would be really grateful if you could take the time to complete them – neither should take more than a few minutes to do, but the results will be invaluable in determining the reality of women’s experiences post hysterectomy.

The Information Needs of Hysterectomy Patients – this survey is designed to re-run the original research that actually started off The Hysterectomy Association in 1996, we are looking to see what, if anything, has changed in the last 12 years.

Your Post Hysterectomy Experiences – this survey improves on the quick one we did last year and we are hoping to have around 100,000 women complete it in the course of the year that it runs.

Hysterectomy and Divorce

Did you know that having a hysterectomy has been cited as leading to around 2% of divorces in the UK. As a result of this we have teamed up with a new group who are hoping to improve the experience of divorce by making it more ‘enlightened’. They are currently conducting research into the areas that cause the most stress and strain and it would help greatly if you wouldn’t mind completing their very quick online survey.

You can find it here: -

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=aWMUO9URzWTX5R5WO3ksVQ_3d_3d

Join Us on FACEBOOK

We now have a brand new group up and running on Facebook – why not join us there by following this link:

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?id=565393630#/group.php?gid=32236621122

Fundraising

We have teamed up with The Weather Lottery to try to find more exciting and beneficial ways to raise funds to help support the work that we do. With the weather lottery, not only do we receive much needed funding, but YOU get the chance to win some big prizes each week. You can find out more here:

http://www.hysterectomy-association.org.uk/index.php/2008/05/21/the-weather-lottery/

Your Stories, Your Experiences

Those of you who took part in this activity will know that we have still yet to complete the new book. Huge apologies are extended to everyone involved, but we have had some difficulties that have been impossible to manage thus far – it will all happen very soon though, so keep your eyes out.

The Latest Information

Love and hugs.

Linda x