Hollister and Dansac Celebrate World Ostomy Day 2021 with Virtual Panel

For many people ostomy surgery gives them a new chance at life, helping to manage challenging symptoms, stabilize daily routines, and do things they could not do prior to illness. These positive outcomes are why every three years people around the world celebrate World Ostomy Day.

Saturday, October 2, 2021 will be the 10th time this special event is taking place. We are excited and proud that for the first time both Hollister and Dansac brands will support World Ostomy Day, and in several markets across the globe! 

Each brand will support its own campaign with a range of unique educational and engagement opportunities. Both support our marquee event, a virtual panel discussion with ostomates from around the world. Together we will spread awareness and education to impact the day-to-day lives of people living with and caring for ostomies, and help foster positivity and community building.

Coming Together: World Ostomy Day Virtual Panel

This discussion features four panelists from across the world who are each living with a stoma. In addition to their ostomy journeys, they speak about living an active life, finding acceptance, treating the whole person, building connections with others through social media, misconceptions, and the importance of advocacy on behalf of the ostomy community.

• Gill Castle (@stoma_chameleon) has a colostomy as a result of injuries sustained during childbirth. Now she leads an active lifestyle, including triathlons, sky diving, scuba diving, and open water swimming. Gill aims to be the first ever ostomate to complete the English Channel swim! She is a passionate advocate for ostomates, believing that everyone can be active, happy, and live a fulfilling life with a stoma.
• Matt Clark (@clarky_rugby_crohns) has been a devoted player with the Blackheath rugby club for the last 19 seasons. Having stoma surgery five years ago to help manage his Crohn’s disease has not stopped him from leading an active life of playing rugby and cricket, travel, and work.
• Tina Aswani Omprakash (Own Your Crohn’s blog) is a health advocate for patients living with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and ostomies. Through her writing, social media presence, and public speaking engagements, she spearheads public health causes, including those creating awareness for IBD, life-saving ostomy surgery, and initiatives supporting global women's and minorities' health.
• Dr. Paul Wischmeyer (@paul_wischmeyermd) is a critical care, perioperative, and nutrition physician who serves as a Professor with Tenure of Anesthesiology and Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. He also serves as the Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Research in the Dept. of Anesthesiology and Director of the Nutrition Team at Duke Hospital. His career work is focused helping patients prepare and recover from surgery (including ostomy and IBD surgery) and from IBD and other illnesses. He is also living with an ostomy.

Hollister Encourages You to Celebrate the Day Your Way

Stoma Stickers are back! They are a great way to raise awareness, start a conversation, and show support. In addition to physical stickers in some markets, Hollister is offering a digital stickers pack on Instagram to help people enhance their posts. People can share their Stoma Sticker selfies on social media using the hashtags #WOD2021 and #OstomateVoices.

Hollister is also taking steps to tackle the stigma in a lighthearted yet bold new way: in our What is a Stoma? video we brought kids together with ostomates to learn about stomas for the first time. We hope the sincerity and humor will help ease peoples' fears of telling others about their ostomy, as well as address questions and misconceptions.

People can also access the full #MyOstomy Podcast series that launched in August.

Click here to visit the Hollister World Ostomy Day webpage, and follow our Hollister Social Media activity on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more great content!

#DansacVoices Spread Positive Feelings

Sometimes a few kind words are all it takes to brighten someone's day – or your own! The new Dansac ostomy-positive Affirmation Cards are a great way to spread positive thinking, calm, and confidence. On the website people can submit their own affirmation for a personalized card, or pick from a series of pre-made designs to use for a personal pick-me-up or share on social media!

The campaign also features the My Stoma Gave Me video series, a look at how several ostomates feel stoma surgery has changed their life for the better.

Click here to visit the Dansac World Ostomy Day webpage, and follow our Dansac Social Media activity on Facebook and YouTube for more great content!