This may be a short month, but it’s not short on all the many ways to get involved. In the meantime, we hope you feel the Valentine love from all of us at OCRA.

Advocacy

Advocacy OCRA
  • Spring Advocacy Day is right around the corner, March 7th – 8th. If you are passionate about the issues that matter most to the ovarian cancer community and want to learn more about how OCRA engages with policymakers, sign up now for this virtual two-day event. 
  • Survivors Teaching Students (STS) needs you! STS educates the medical professionals of tomorrow by sending volunteers into the classrooms (in person and online) to share stories and crucial messages about risk factors, symptoms, and treatment of ovarian cancer. Thanks and welcome to all of our new volunteers; we’re growing more powerful every day. But we can always use additional voices, especially in New Mexico and West Virginia.

Patient Support & Programs

Support OCRA
  • Are you, or is someone you know, newly diagnosed with ovarian or another gynecologic cancer? Or recently off first-line treatment? OCRA offers a weekly virtual support group catered with those needs in mind. Learn about our Staying Connected support series, which has something for everyone — whether you’re newly diagnosed, a young adult facing this disease, the loved one of someone in treatment, dealing with treatment yourself, or an adult who has lost a parent to ovarian cancer. OCRA is here for you.
  • In addition to our Staying Connected series, we offer a patient support line at 212-268-1002 for individual guidance from our oncology social work team, 1:1 peer mentorship through Woman to Woman, and a large online community through Inspire, where you can ask questions or seek support 24/7 from over 74k patients, family and friends.

Events

Community OCRA
  • #23forHope kicks off in less than a week! This social media challenge aims to raise awareness of the fact that every 23 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It also aims to raise funds for lifesaving research and patient support programs. We invite everyone to do 23 minutes of any type of fitness, donate $23 to OCRA, and tag 23 friends to do the same.

Research

Research OCRA
  • While a Pap smear cannot detect ovarian cancer, new research shows that cervical cells may be able to predict the risk for ovarian and other cancers. Read more about this study based on cervical samples collected from 15 different health centers in Europe.
  • A recent study has determined that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine is both safe and effective for gynecologic cancer patients undergoing treatment.
  • You may have heard a doctor talk about PARP inhibitors … you may be taking them right now. But do you know what they are, exactly? And how they are used to treat ovarian cancer? Discover how they work and their history.

Ways to Give

Ways to Give OCRA
  • The Promise Circle is a group of generous supporters so committed to defeating ovarian cancer that they have established a monthly gift so their support will be steady and enduring. We are hoping to bring 50 new members into this group this month, so please become a monthly donor today!
  • Did you know that OCRA accepts cryptocurrency? It’s fast, secure and may offer tax savings. To learn more about how donating crypto can lower your taxes, check out this resource from our partner The Giving Block.