Written by Julia Thayer, Associate Director, Advocacy
This month, more than 120 OCRA Advocate Leaders traveled to Washington, DC for Advocacy Day—braving snowstorms, severe weather, and even a partial government shutdown to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill.
View more Advocacy Day interviews on our press page.
We kicked things off with a full day of training, where the group built skills, shared stories, and learned from experienced advocates, to ensure our impact would be deeply felt.
After training day, we hit the ground running and our advocates truly turned the Hill teal, completing 158 meetings with congressional offices to push for critical investments in ovarian and gynecologic cancer research, education, and patient support.
Advocates asked Congress to support funding for the following federal programs:
- $15 million for Johanna’s Law
- $20 million for the Ovarian Cancer Control Initiative
- $52.5 million for the Ovarian Cancer Research Program
If successful, these requests would bring an additional $10 million to these critical research and education programs.
We also urged lawmakers to sign Dear Colleague letters supporting OCRP funding, and to support the Gynecologic Cancer STAR Act, a comprehensive bill expected to be introduced soon that would expand research, create survivorship programs, and improve access to genetic testing.
Beyond their meetings on Capitol Hill, advocates also helped raise awareness through television interviews and social media posts, sharing their stories to reach audiences far beyond DC and continue building momentum for these priorities.
Advocacy Day is always a powerful reminder that sharing your story matters. These conversations help ensure that the ovarian and gynecologic cancer communities are seen, heard, and prioritized.
If you want to add your voice to the fight and amplify the asks our advocates made, you can take action here.
We’re grateful to every advocate who showed up, spoke out, and helped move this work forward!
