CATHERINE DICECCA - President
Catherine DiCecca is a Registered Massage
Therapist (RMT) with over 13 years in this field. She trained at the West Coast College of
Massage Therapy in Vancouver. In 1994,
she trained with the Dr. Vodder School for Manual Lymph Drainage and Combined
Decongestive Therapy and has been using this technique for people with
lymphedema. Catherine is also an
instructor for the basic level of the Manual Lymph Drainage for health care professionals.
She has served as an investigator and the
Chair of the Inquiry Committee for the College of Massage Therapists in
BC. She was on the board of the
non-profit Society NAVALT® (North American Association of Lymphatic Therapists)
and was their newsletter editor for a number of years.
In treating people who have lymphedema
and knowing the lack of information that is available to them, Catherine’s
interest in seeing this association created has been foremost. When the opportunity arose, she eagerly
participated and made herself available in whatever way that she was needed.
LUCETTE WESLEY – Vice-President
Lucette has over 30 years experience
working in the field of group insurance, including 15 years of senior
leadership positions with several major Canadian insurance companies. She has volunteered her time as an executive
of the South Burnaby Garden Club for many years and is an avid gardener. She has now joined the board of the BC
Lymphedema Association as Vice-President and Privacy Officer. She has friends who are cancer survivors and
lymphedema patients. She advocates a
healthy lifestyle and a positive attitude as the best tools for those living a
full life with lymphedema.
PATRICIA MONTAGANO - Secretary
Patricia is a Registered Nurse (RN, BSN) with over 15 years of experience in this field. She graduated with honours from the University of British Columbia, School of Nursing in Vancouver. She is a certified expert garment fitter for all types of compression garments and is trained by the Boston School of Advanced Compression. Her passion is helping those with breast cancer or lymphedema navigate through the health care system. In meeting and treating people with lymphedema and breast cancer, she is well aware of the lack of information about lymphedema.
Patricia developed and implemented various types of patient centered teaching clinics, ranging from diabetes, wound care, lymphedema treatment, and compression therapy.
Recently Patricia and her husband of 15 years celebrated the birth of their third child. She currently works with her husband at BC MedEquip Home Health Care, where she can focus on providing her expertise and experience to the public. Patricia looks forward to helping the BCLA achieve their goals.
LYNN (WARNOCK) HOLLOWAY – Treasurer
Lynn is a founding member of the BCLA and was the secretary for over 3 years. She has recently returned to the Board in the capacity of Treasurer, as well as maintaining the positions of Newsletter Editor and Membership Coordinator. Since the onset of lymphedema in her left leg as a result of cancer treatment in 2003, she has been committed to the creation of this organization as a vehicle to advance awareness and services for this disorder.
In her professional life, Lynn was a bookkeeper/office manager in a variety of settings for over 25 years. She currently resides in Parksville on Vancouver Island with her husband, Michael. He is great moral support and is instrumental in assisting her control her lymphedema by wrapping her leg and helping her don her compression garment daily.
MICHAEL DEL BALSO - Director
Michael has a business and marketing background with an MBA and B.Comm. He has worked in both the public sector and private sector and has developed award-winning best practices. Michael has been involved in the community for many years coaching championship sports teams. Over the years, he has gained valuable experience in fundraising and organizing events, having been actively involved with United Way campaigns. Michael's goals are to create awareness about lymphedema, educate those with the condition that treatment options are available, and motivate them to get expert medical advice regarding their condition. Michael offers his knowledge and experience to the Board of the BC Lymphedema Association so that those with lymphedema can lead healthy and hopeful lives.
FATIMA INGLIS – Director
Fatima is a Physiotherapist
working at Holy Family Hospital in Outpatient Services. She specializes in treating musculo-skeletal conditions,
which includes lymphedema. She became
interested in the current treatment of lymphedema in 2002 following information
she received at a course she attended in Seattle, WA.
CHRISTINE
PEARSON - Director
Christine joined the Board Sep/09. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge as
a wound clinician with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA), where she
sees a number of patients with lymphedema. She is aware of the lack of knowledge in the
medical community about lymphedema and is interested in making changes through
education in that arena. She also
recognizes that obtaining appropriate treatment for lymphedema can be very costly
and out of reach for some. Christine
looks forward to lymphedema treatment becoming more accessible and covered by
BC Medical.
She currently serves on the Board of
Directors of the Canadian Association of Wound Care, a national association
based in Toronto, as well as on other local and regional health committees
through her job with VCHA.
LENE TONNISEN - Director
As a Registered Massage Therapist since 1997, Lene started her training in the Dr. Vodder Method of Manual Lymph Drainage & Combined Decongestive Therapy (MLD/CDT) in 1996 and was certified in 1998. She has been using it to treat various injuries and conditions, including lymphedema, since then. She joined the BCLA and became a board member in the spring of 2010.
She has worked and/or volunteered in a variety of settings, including sport massage at 2 different international events; massage therapy at the World Burn Congress in 2007; doing combination treatments with a Psychologist; worked at a disability rehab centre in Burkina Faso, Africa; presentations given to wound care clinicians/nurses about lymphedema & wound care management using MLD/CDT; has become a certified fitter for JoViPak night-time compression garments; and trained some ladies in Cambodia in how to do Massage.
Lene desires to see the treatment of lymphedema progress & become more standardized so that many more people can benefit from it. A big part of this is to make people aware that there ARE treatment options and she hopes that the BCLA will be a key resource towards that end!
LEONA TOWERS – Director
Leona Towers joined the board in May/09. As a retired teacher, she brings with her organizational
and writing skills that she will use to help advocate for lymphedema awareness,
education, and research. Leona developed
secondary lymphedema in both legs many years after surgery and radiation
treatment for cancer. She is a retired
teacher who enjoys physical activity, travelling, gardening, and learning.
DR ELLIOTT WEISS - Director
Elliott has been a Medical Advisor to the
BCLA since its inception. He is a
Medical Specialist with a title of Division Head, Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation (PMR). In his work at
UBC, he is involved in teaching medical students and residents, and is also a
Clinical Instructor. He acts as a
Medical Consultant for one of Canada’s largest disability insurers. His clinical practice includes all
subspecialties of PMR. He became
interested in primary and secondary lymphedema many years ago and his clinical
practice involves the diagnosis and management of lymphedematous conditions,
both from a medical and a disability perspective.