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By Margaret Mielczarek. Tell us a little about your background. How did you come to work at the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF)? My background is emergency services, where I spent most of my career with Victoria Police, and then moved to the Country Fire Authority. I knew one of the directors on the OCRF board, who tested my interest in joining the OCRF. My sister-in-law, Jane, and my godmother both died of ovarian cancer, so it was a cause I was very interested in. The whole team at OCRF are very passionate and motivated to make a real difference, and I’m proud to be a part of it. What is OCRF, how did it come about, and what is its aim/purpose? This year, the OCRF celebrates its 21st birthday, so a real coming of age for the organisation and, most importantly, for the cause. The OCRF’s vision is that every woman, everywhere, is free from the threat of ovarian cancer and we seek to achieve this by funding innovative ovarian cancer research to save women’s lives through early detection and personalised treatment. What are the goals of the OCRF? Our three goals are: • Develop and implement an early- detection program for ovarian cancer that is non-invasive, highly accurate and widely available. • Improve the mortality rate, management and long-term survival of women with ovarian cancer. • Attract and fund the most innovative and skilled researchers. How does OCRF assist women with ovarian cancer and their families? We offer hope and a future for all women. The OCRF is the largest non- governmental funder of ovarian cancer research in Australia, and the major funder overall of research into early detection and diagnosis. The OCRF has a clear research strategy to significantly shift the current low survival rates for women with ovarian cancer. Importantly, we invest in research that will assist women today, as well as significant investment to save the next generation of women. Unquestionably, investment in cancer research translates into significant improvements in survival. Only research will save the lives of today’s and tomorrow’s generation of women. How many women are currently affected by ovarian cancer in Australia? More than 1800 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Australia during 2020 and only 830 of these women will still be alive in 2025. In simple terms, one woman will die from ovarian cancer in Australia every eight hours. What are the causes of ovarian cancer? What’s the best way to prevent it? There’s no direct causal link to ovarian cancer, but some risk factors include: • Having a genetic predisposition to the disease (BRCA genes), but that’s only 10-15 per cent of women diagnosed, meaning 85 per cent have no connection, and the disease occurs randomly. • Being overweight. • Time on the contraceptive pill. • Being of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. • Early onset of periods (before 12 years) and late menopause. • Not having children or having a first child after 35 years of age. \\\[Currently\\\] there’s no way to prevent ovarian cancer ... and this is one of our key areas of focus for the research we fund. Treatment depends on the extent or spread of the cancer. Surgery is used to determine the extent of disease and, if localised, is the main treatment. If the cancer has spread, an attempt is made to remove as much as possible. Most women will have chemotherapy after surgery, to destroy any remaining cancer cells, while other women will have chemotherapy before surgery in an effort to shrink the tumours as much as possible to assist in their removal. Radiation therapy can be used to treat any other sites where the cancer has spread. Ovarian cancer remains one of the most lethal and least understood cancers affecting women in Australia and around the world. Women with ovarian cancer face a challenging outlook, with five-year survival rates of only 46 per cent today. Sadly, this survival rate is lower than the five-year rate for all cancers in 1975, when the modern cancer research era began. More concerning is that for women who are diagnosed in the later stages (around 70 per cent of all diagnoses), only 29 per cent will survive beyond five years. Why is early detection so important when it comes to ovarian cancer? The most significant barrier to improving survival outcomes for women with ovarian cancer is the lack of an early detection test. This is because ovarian cancer is known as the ‘silent killer’ – the symptoms are often absent or vague and mimic common female complaints. Developing an early detection test for the next generation of women has the potential to double the current survival rate (to in excess of 90 per cent) and save the lives of more than 8000 Australian women over a decade. Globally, an early detection TO PAGE 16 A FUTURE FOR ALL WOMEN With research into one of “the most lethal and least understood cancers affecting women in Australia and around the world” being of vital importance, in line with February’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, we speak with Lucinda Nolan, CEO of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, to learn about the organisation and its crucial work towards freeing women “everywhere from the threat of” this horrible disease. RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • FEB 2021 AWARENESS SPOTLIGHT 15