PHILADELPHIA (September 1, 2010) –Starting today and continuing throughout Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, celebrities, athletes, prominent doctors and survivors will be sharing their experiences and insights about ovarian cancer as part of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s “September Speaks” campaign. Videos featuring Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Jeff Boyd, PhD, executive director of the Institute for Personalized Medicine, and Carol Cherry, MSN, RN, AOCNS, a nurse in the Risk Assessment Program; NY Yankees Manager Joe Girardi; actress Carol Channing; Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); and others touched by the disease will run on NOCC’s website——www.ovarian.org.
“We are thrilled that so many people wanted to help educate visitors about ovarian cancer,” said David Barley, NOCC’s Chief Executive Officer. “The videos are informational and inspiring.”
The campaign will kick off with Yankees Manager Girardi, who talks about losing his mother to ovarian cancer when he was a teenager. The NOCC will run a new video on www.ovarian.org every weekday during the month of September. Others featured in the videos include the The CBS Early Show’s Dr. Jennifer Ashton and Ladies Professional Golf player Heather Bowie. In addition, there will be numerous “surprise” video participants, said Barley.
“Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all the gynecologic cancers,” he said. “There is no early detection test and, sadly, most women are diagnosed when the cancer has advanced and their odds of survival are reduced. Our campaign will not only help make women and their families more aware of the disease, but will help others to benefit from the videos that focus on treatments and survivorship.”
The mission of the NOCC is to raise awareness and increase education about ovarian cancer. More than 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and approximately 15,000 women die from the disease. Unfortunately, most cases are diagnosed in their later stages when the prognosis is poor. However, if diagnosed and treated early, when the cancer is confined to the ovary, the five-year survival rate is over 90 percent. For more information, please visit www.ovarian.org or call Ronni Blaisdell at 973-944-0719.