As a 16-year survivor of primary peritoneal cancer who is continuously in treatment, author Jane Rubin has advice for anyone who has recently received a cancer diagnosis. “Let yourself react — it is crummy news. But don’t stay down. Get yourself back up and live your best life.”
A Life-Altering Diagnosis — and an Unshakable Response
Jane exemplifies these words of encouragement. After being diagnosed with primary peritoneal cancer in 2009, which came nearly a decade after she underwent a full hysterectomy following breast cancer and the discovery of a BRCA1 genetic mutation, Jane found new purpose. She retired from her role as a healthcare executive and turned her attention to raising funds for ovarian cancer research and ramping up awareness of the disease.
The creation of The Mathilda Fund
In 2010, Jane created The Mathilda Fund, which has since received more than $80,000 in donations. The money raised is donated to Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance to support groundbreaking research into ovarian and related gynecologic cancers. She named the fund after her great-grandmother, who likely had the same genetic mutation that Jane now carries.
No living family member knew her name,” Jane noted of her great-grandmother. “After researching … I found her — Mathilda. She represents the thousands of women who died and were buried in history without a name to remember or honor.
Healing Through Writing: Memoir and Beyond
Jane continued to delve into her family roots as she navigated her diagnosis, finding solace in the stories that had been passed down through the years. As Jane recounted, these reflections helped her “find strength, a sturdy philosophy to guide me forward, and a different perspective on how to live and cherish the moments of my life.” Jane began weaving these accounts into a memoir, “Almost a Princess: My Life as a Two-Time Cancer Survivor,” which she wrote as a “healing journal” and also to record these stories for yet another generation of family – her grandchildren.
“Almost a Princess” and the power of storytelling
The publication of Jane’s memoir in 2011 marked a new shift, as she added book author to her list of life accomplishments. She also embraced this achievement as yet another way to help the ovarian cancer community, deciding to donate a portion of the book proceeds to Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) through The Mathilda Fund.
Jane has since authored three more books: “In the Hands of Women,” “Threadbare,” and the recently published “Over There.” Together, they form a historical fiction trilogy, the spark of which began with Jane’s search for her great-grandmother, who inspired one of the main characters. Mathilda’s death from a “woman’s disease” led Jane on an exploration of medical care in the United States, with a focus on female patients and the healthcare workers devoted to advancing progress. The books span the late 1800s through the early 1900s, traversing from the delivery wards of America’s urban centers to the U.S. base hospitals of wartorn France.
Books for a Cause: Turning Stories Into Support
As her literary career has progressed, Jane has welcomed the opportunity to use her public appearances as another vehicle for raising critical funds for ovarian and related gynecologic cancer research. “As a more established author, I ask book clubs, large and small, to donate to The Mathilda Fund in exchange for my time,” she explained.
Jane encourages others who are thinking of fundraising for our shared cause to start now.
On the journey, you will cross paths with so many people, men and women, who will thank and inspire you,” she said. “I can barely believe I’m hitting $80,000 this year. It was a slow, steady build.
A Growing Legacy of Hope and Impact
As for what keeps Jane motivated to continue her fundraising efforts a decade and a half after she first began, she cites gratitude for the life she leads – and the research that has brought her this far.
I have a great deal of faith in OCRA and believe that the organization will continue to fuel the research that has helped me enter my next year of survivorship,” Jane explained. “When I stand in front of a room of hundreds of women and tell them my story, a sixteen-year survivor in constant treatment, they are speechless. The public still thinks of ovarian cancer as a quick, deadly disease. It is my job to bring hope.
Learn more about The Mathilda Fund.
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