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Ask the SAC | Why Is the Number of Ovarian Cancer Diagnoses Decreasing?

OCRA’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) is composed of doctors and researchers who are well-known and well-respected experts in the field of gynecologic oncology. They review the proposals we receive for research funding — hundreds of letters of intent and grant applications from investigators all around the world who are determined and dedicated to finding a cure for ovarian cancer…

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Jill Martin Shares Important Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Message

TODAY show contributor Jill Martin opened up about her recent breast cancer diagnosis, and urged viewers to speak with their doctors to see if genetic testing is warranted. Says Martin, "I am telling this story now because I couldn’t go through months of operations, and start to recover both physically and mentally, without shouting from the rooftops telling everyone to check with their doctors to see if genetic testing is appropriate...I am talking about this not to scare you…

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Facing Down Four Recurrences and Finding Strength in Community

Janice Paulshock Janice Paulshock first began connecting with others in the ovarian cancer community in 1999 after being diagnosed with Stage 3C high-grade serous carcinoma. Twenty-plus years and four recurrences later, she remains committed to offering support to gynecologic cancer patients through her role as a mentor in OCRA’s Woman to Woman program. Find out how her own diagnosis has shaped her outlook and what her family discovered through genetic testing…

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A Rogue Parakeet and a Reason for Hope

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022, Marsha Biven currently participates in a number of OCRA programs, including Staying Connected, Survivors Teaching Students, and Woman to Woman. Read on to learn more about her story, including how a vision board (and a rogue parakeet!) factored into her experience and why her professional background is an asset in her role as a Woman to Woman mentor. …

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Study Finds Genetic Testing Underutilized Among Ovarian Cancer Patients

We know that germline genetic testing (testing that looks for inherited genetic mutations that exist in all cells of the body) is a crucial component in the fight against ovarian cancer — not just in determining who is at increased risk for the disease, but in optimizing treatment for patients already diagnosed. OCRA offers free genetic test kits to those who qualify…

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OCRA Research Advocate’s Highlights From the 2023 Annual Meeting of the SGO

Annie Ellis Written by Annie Ellis, OCRA Research Advocate and Scientific Advisory Committee member, and ovarian cancer survivor, based on expert presentations from the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecoologic Oncology. This year’s SGO annual meeting theme was Patients ● Purpose ● Progress. The meeting was held in Tampa, Florida from March 25th - 28th…

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OCRA Awards $7 Million in Research Grants for 2023

OCRA is pleased to award $7 million in ovarian cancer research funding for 2023, representing the largest annual research investment in our history. With this funding, 20 cancer researchers at 15 medical institutions across the country will pursue projects that break new ground in the fight against this disease. Selected by OCRA’s Scientific Advisory Committee for their potential to move the needle forward…

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Richard Adeyemi, DVM, PhD

Dr. Richard Adeyemi, DVM, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Basic Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree with distinctions at the University of Ibadan. He then moved to the United States for graduate school in Molecular Microbiology, joining the virology lab of Dr. David Pintel at the University of Missouri…

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Social Media Shareables

Help spread the word. Right-click and Save the images below, and use them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or wherever you use social media. Sample Posts Sharing is simple — just copy and paste the following text. Please tag OCRA in captions if you are able. Our social media handles are as follows: Twitter: @ocrahope Instagram: @ocrahope …

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FAQs

View answers to questions about ovarian cancer risk reduction, and how genetic testing can help. You can also download this document as a PDF. FAQs In order to develop an effective early detection test for ovarian cancer, we still have much work to do to better help understand how ovarian cancer develops and spreads. Researchers are working to better understand the origins of the disease (such as discovering that lesions have been found on the fallopian tubes in ovarian cancer patients) and where else in the female reproductive tract these precancerous cells…

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2022 Breakthroughs in Ovarian Cancer Research and Treatment

“We are truly in the Golden Age, the Renaissance, if you will, of care for people with ovarian cancer. So much is happening.”Dr. Stephanie Blank Dr. Stephanie BlankImage: Mount Sinai website Though there is still much progress to be made when it comes to ovarian cancer therapies, breakthroughs in recent years have led to significant changes in how the disease is approached and treated — changes that hold promise for continued advancements in care…

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A New Direction in Preventing Ovarian Cancer

We can’t yet cure ovarian cancer, but there are strategies to potentially prevent it.  With no early detection test — and important research demonstrating that in most cases, detecting ovarian cancer even 18-24 months earlier, well before symptoms begin, does not improve mortality — we must focus on strategies that DO work and can effect real change and save lives. …