About NOFCC
Our Vision | Our Purpose | Objectives | NOFCC History | User Agreements
"Founded in the North, for families of the North..."
Our Vision
Support, Advocacy and Education are our main focus.
Our Purpose
Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer is an independent Registered Charity (#86467 6713 RR0001). Incorporated in December 1998, NOFCC is continuing to expand upon the long-standing efforts of northern parents to work collaboratively for mutual support. NOFCC has become a recognized provider of services that help northern families cope with the experience of childhood cancer. NOFCC programming is based on research into the needs of the group.
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Objectives:
- To give and receive support.
- To maintain our connections to each other.
- To contribute to group efforts.
- To fulfill our desire and responsibility to help others, arising from our unique knowledge and experiences.
- To promote understanding of childhood cancer among the members of the group and in our communities.
- To work collaboratively to ensure northern families have access to the best possible medical treatment and support services in the North and in the system as a whole.
- Using the strength acquired through our experiences, to provide a voice for those who are not strong or are in a crisis situation as a result of the impact of childhood cancer.
- To serve as action-oriented change agents in our communities, making positive things happen ourselves.
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NOFCC History
Lorraine Chartier -Past President and Founding Member
For Lorraine Chartier, the long and difficult journey of childhood cancer and its treatment began in 1991 when her youngest daughter Barbie was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma. Life took a sharp turn at the Chartier residence with Lorraine attending to Barbie’s continuous medical needs while dad’s role became divided between pursuing his education, working, maintaining the well being of the entire family and numerous trips to Toronto; whilst their daughter Michelle stayed home and took on the responsibility of caring for her two brothers. During that period, most of Lorraine and Barbie’s time was spent in Toronto either at the Ronald Macdonald House or in the hospital during Barbie’s numerous surgeries and ongoing chemotherapy treatment.
After Barbie lost her long and courageous battle to cancer in 1996, Lorraine attended OPAC meetings in Toronto in an attempt to bring back the Rainbow CanCare support group in Sudbury. With the help of oldest daughter Michelle, and Janet & Guy (also bereaved parents), the foursome was determined to have a support group available to families in the Sudbury area who were dealing with childhood cancer. They understood the feelings of isolation following months spent out of town for their child’s treatment and the geographical challenges of not being able to attend support groups in Toronto upon their return home. After unsuccessful attempts to bring back Rainbow CanCare, the foursome, along with other parents founded Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer-NOFCC in the fall of 1998.
In 2000, the NOFCC began fundraising activities to provide financial assistance to families as well as providing them with emotional support. The NOFCC expanded their support from the Sudbury region to assisting families throughout Northern Ontario. Although fundraising proved exhausting and challenging, Lorraine remained adamant that we continue helping the outlying areas. She would always remind us that since NOFCC was the fourth group started in Sudbury and that it was the only one that had survived that long, it would be difficult for outlying areas to have groups of their own given their smaller population. She would also remind us that families living in Northern Ontario had to deal with challenges that families living in Southern Ontario didn’t have and that northerners had to stick together as one community. Today, 9 years later... a successful registered charity that has seen over 200 newly diagnosed children within our chosen areas.
The charity is constantly growing, volunteers are continuously striving to make a difference and support from communities and community members continue to increase.
Micheline Ferguson - Past President and Founding Member
When Micheline was asked in the fall of 1998 to join a new support group in Sudbury, she initially thought that there would be no point in joining since their daughter had finished her 3 years of treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and she didn’t feel the need to receive support. She was handling the situation as best as could be expected (at least that is how she felt). Micheline later remembered a promise she had made herself whilst in Toronto during her daughter’s treatment and realized her own experience with childhood cancer may give support to other families. Childhood cancer has been part of the Fergusons' lives since 1990 when their niece was diagnosed with Hysteocytoma, then their daughter in 1994 with high risk ALL, another niece in 1998 with Ewing’s sarcoma, the relapse of the first niece in 2002 followed by the end of her courageous battle in 2003. Through it all, Micheline had seen how the illness can impinge on families differently and for different reasons depending on their individual circumstances. Being a wife and mother of 3 boys and 1 girl, had also shown her how childhood cancer can affect each member of a family differently depending on the individual’s resilience, personality and what ever else life throws at them.
“Being part of NOFCC has undoubtedly changed my life significantly and it has been extremely rewarding. Never did I expect the thrill I would feel with each fundraising event and the delight every time we established a new program or when we were capable of increasing an existing program. It has given me the chance to take intense life experiences and make something good of it. The community has been incredibly supportive and I have met scores of wonderful people. I feel very fortunate to have worked and to be able to continue to work with so many wonderful volunteers who share the same passion of making a difference in the lives of families dealing with childhood cancer and all desiring to be able to give the families the very best that we can.” – Micheline Ferguson
NOFCC Board Members
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User Agreement
Privacy: We respect your personal privacy. We will not release your name, street address, or phone number or e-mail address without your consent or without legal authority.
Terms Of Use: Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer web site is a complimentary information service. Users agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in our Users Agreement. Use of this website constitutes your acceptance of all terms and conditions.
Medical Disclaimer: You acknowledge that the information on this website and other links provided “as is” for general information only. It is not intended as medical advice.
Limitation of Liability: You agree that NOFCC, it’s members, volunteers, officers, or directors will not be held responsible in any legal way for information contained in this website or any link websites. NOFCC holds no responsibility that these pages are virus free. Material contained may be of offence to some people but it is understood that the opinions and recommendations contained are not necessarily those of NOFCC.
Content Use: NOFCC logo and Parent Support Connection Logo may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted, displayed, altered, distributed or stored for subsequent use. They cannot be used in whole or part in any manner without NOFCC prior written consent.
NOFCC is not responsible for the information or materials contained on the host website. Links to this website are provided for convenience of reference only and are not intended as an endorsement by NOFCC organization or individual(s) operating the host website.
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