over it!
Increasing ovarian cancer survival
News Corp launches ovarian cancer media campaign
Every year, close to 2,000 Australian girls and women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and more than 1,000 will die. The disease is now considered a common cancer for women and incidence is rising, yet ovarian cancer remains chronically underfunded, under-researched, and poorly understood relative to many cancers and other diseases.
We’re over it. The story must change.
Kicking off on Sunday 11 October 2026, News Corp launched a groundbreaking ovarian cancer campaign, created in partnership with Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, to put ovarian cancer survival on the national agenda.
Over It! asks the Australian Government for an urgent $21 million investment for each of the next four years in ovarian cancer research. The main aim of the campaign is to improve the current 49% five-year survival rate.
Importantly, the campaign calls for sustained research investment, so that ovarian cancer survival rates can one day match those of breast and prostate cancer, which are now greater than 90 per cent. Through a clear funding ask, powerful personal stories and expert research, the Over It! campaign aims to improve ovarian cancer survival - showing both readers and policymakers why change is needed and how it can happen.
The time for change is now. Over the next 10 years, about 24,000 Australian women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and — on current survival trends — more than 14,000 will lose their lives. This campaign is a rare chance to drive the national agenda on a cause that has been largely overlooked yet profoundly affects women, families, and communities across the country.
What we are asking for
- $21 million new dedicated investment in ovarian cancer research from the Australian Government for each of the next four years.
- Sustained research funding until the survival rate is more than 90 per cent – on par with breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma.
- National awareness of ovarian cancer risk reduction options, symptoms, and the survival gap.
Sustained commitment will lead to
- Reduced risk of incidence of ovarian cancer in the general population
- Improved quality of life for patients and families
- A boost in Australia’s research capacity in gynaecological cancers.
Priorities for the funding
- Develop better, targeted therapies and run faster, more adaptive Australian clinical trials so effective treatments reach patients sooner
- Scale up tumour profiling to better understand immune responses in ovarian cancer.
- Drive discovery research that uses biomarkers, AI and advanced diagnostics to reveal how ovarian cancers and their tumour ecosystems work.
- Raise public awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and risk and targeted education about opportunities for risk-reducing surgery.
- Build a better understanding of at-risk and priority populations
"Every day, five Australia women are told the words that no one wants to hear - 'you have ovarian cancer'.
Three or four of these patients will already have advanced (late-stage) cancer. Only two or three will still be alive in five years’ time. Every day, we speak to women who knew very little about ovarian cancer until they were diagnosed. We are over ovarian cancer being overlooked and inadequately funded.
All these things can be changed, with education, awareness, and most of all, sustained investment in medical research. We are extremely grateful for News Corp’s support for the cause and for working with us to create this powerful campaign that will shine a national spotlight on this insidious disease."
Robin Penty, CEO, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation
FAQS
OCRF has raised more than $37 million for ovarian cancer research since 2000 through the generosity of our community but the onus should not just be on the affected community to raise funds. Without substantial and sustained government support, what the OCRF can raise is not enough on its own to achieve survival rates that match breast cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer.
And we know through experience that collaboration across all pillars of society to invest in research is the only way we will solve a complex disease like ovarian cancer.
In Australia, the scale of investment we need can only be achieved through government support.
A lot! A major injection of research funding to ovarian cancer is needed to address decades of chronic underfunding. It will enable the funding of early detection and prevention research at scale; develop better targeted therapies; establish adaptive Australian-led clinical trials; and deliver public health education.
We have also observed from other cancer types that an increase in funding will attract new, early career researchers to ovarian cancer, and enable mid-career researchers to remain in this field. This will boost Australia’s research capability for all gynaecological cancers, ensuring the next generation of scientists has the knowledge to continue discoveries.
The priorities are based on extensive community, peer and researcher consultation across Australia as set out in the OCRF Research Impact Strategy 2025-30; the recent ovarian cancer roadmap published in Nature Reviews Cancer, and a deep understanding of the global cancer research context through our collaborations with peer organisations in Canada, the UK and USA.
The priorities also build on the business case for the proposed Gynaecological Cancer Transformation Initiative currently before the Australian Government. This case was thoroughly researched and created with peak clinician organisation ANZGOG and the leadership team at Ovarian Cancer Australia, as well as the OCRF, so the priorities are strongly evidence-based and consistent with the expectations of our lived experience community.
The Australian Cancer Plan and the new NHMRC strategy are also considered.
This is a public awareness campaign and is entirely pro bono, thanks to News Corp Australia.
OCRF in-house campaign team
- Robin Penty, CEO
- Avalee Weir, Chief Communications Officer
- Michelle Henderson, Corporate Communications and PR Lead (Campaign Lead)
Please direct all media enquiries to michelle.henderson@ocrf.com.au or call 0417 765 311
Sign up to our newsletter to learn more about OCRF-funded research, and other opportunities to learn in 2026 including webinars.
Donations to support ovarian cancer research are always needed and welcome – find out how you can support the OCRF.
Get the latest news, stories & updates.
