If we want real change, then we need to challenge the status quo. For the OCRF, that means constantly challenging how ovarian cancer research has been undervalued and underfunded over the past 30 years, and challenging the misconceptions in the community that allow this silent killer to fly under the radar ."
Lucinda Nolan
CEO, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation
This year International Women's Day is all about the #ChooseToChallenge movement. From challenge comes change, and we have big change to make in ovarian cancer - so today, and every day, we're raising our hand and choosing to challenge the unknown.
There is too much unknown about ovarian cancer - from the myths and misunderstandings that exist in the community, to our fundamental understanding of this insidious disease. At the OCRF, we challenge the unknown by driving world-leading research. By finding new and better ways to treat ovarian cancer. By working to develop an early detection test. By shining a light on ovarian cancer so every Australian understands how critical this work is.
The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF) challenges the status quo everyday—in our work, our communications and our commitments to women and girls everywhere. We know that ovarian cancer is the most lethal of the gynaecological cancers yet it remains undervalued and underfunded.
The ovarian cancer five-year survival rate today is lower than that of all cancers in 1975 when the modern cancer research era actually began. In more practical terms, we know that this year it is predicted that more than 1800 women and girls will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Australia alone, and that by 2026, only 830 of them will still be alive. They are damning statistics and they need to be changed. We challenge the status quo in varied ways, because no one-size approach is going to make the seismic shifts we need.
We commissioned an independent report on the past and current status of ovarian cancer research: The State of the Nation: Ovarian Cancer Research Audit, which we have used to not only raise awareness but to challenge the bias and inequality in funding of this disease. We also ensure that we include, represent and reflect the lived experience of women and girls with ovarian cancer. It is their story, not ours, but we hope that we can raise the volume of their voices to achieve real change.
International Women's Day is an important annual reminder that we need to continue to stand up for causes that impact women and girls, especially those that have traditionally not had the visibility and the support they need. Ovarian cancer research is on the precipice of major breakthroughs, but we must continue to deliver the funding needed to really shift the dial.
We choose to rise to this challenge every day.
We #choosetochallenge the unknown - until every woman, everywhere, is free from the threat of ovarian cancer.
Join with us to support ovarian cancer research.