A new clinical trial to treat ovarian cancer is nearly ready to begin in Victoria after one woman donated $250,000.
Before two of her friends were diagnosed with the disease, Patricia Pitts told the crowd gathered in the BC Cancer Agency on Sept. 25 that she didnB次元官网网址檛 know much about ovarian cancer.
B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 know that survival rates for ovarian cancer hadnB次元官网网址檛 improved for decades. I didnB次元官网网址檛 know how difficult it was to identify the symptoms. I didnB次元官网网址檛 know the awful and life-altering side effects of the disease and its treatments,B次元官网网址� Pitts said.
She supported both Carole Lalonde and Marlene Palmer during their treatment, offering her time and friendship.
B次元官网网址淎nyone whoB次元官网网址檚 had to witness a loved one wrestle with cancer knows how difficult it is and how helpless it makes you feel,B次元官网网址� Pitts said during her announcement.
So she decided to offer financial support as well. When her late aunt passed away last year, Pitts was left with an inheritance. The two women had agreed that a significant portion would be used to establish a research fund in honour of their friends. Lalonde had hoped to make it to the event announcing the donation, but passed away on Aug. 21. Palmer passed away last December.
B次元官网网址淚 hope it will attract other donations so it grows to the point where [it can] make a big difference in the very expensive research required to offer more hope to women with ovarian cancer,B次元官网网址� Pitts said.
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In Canada, a woman is diagnosed with ovarian cancer every three and a half hours. Because of the diseaseB次元官网网址檚 ambiguous symptoms and often late diagnosis, 50 per cent of the women who are diagnosed die within five years. BC CancerB次元官网网址檚 new Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OVCARE) hopes to reduce deaths from reproductive cancers by 50 per cent in the next 15 years.
B次元官网网址淭oday sheB次元官网网址檚 turning that grief into good news for ovarian cancer patients in B.C. and around the world,B次元官网网址� Dr. Brad Nelson said, adding that PittsB次元官网网址檚 donation is critical to their research.
Nelson, a director at the BC Cancer Deeley Research Centre in Victoria, will be leading the immunotherapy teamB次元官网网址檚 new clinical trial. He said their initial focus will be on prevention, specifically educating people about risk-preventing surgery of removing the ovaries. Then NelsonB次元官网网址檚 team will work on treatment by developing new trials.
B次元官网网址淏y combining better prevention, better treatments, thatB次元官网网址檚 how weB次元官网网址檙e going to reach our 50 per cent goal,B次元官网网址� Nelson said.
Funds like PittsB次元官网网址檚 donation help go towards the expensive study and trial process. Of her donation, Nelson said the gift was B次元官网网址渉umanity at its best,B次元官网网址� as she is now helping many more women who have been and will be diagnosed with the disease.
B次元官网网址淥ver the past year, IB次元官网网址檝e learned how life can change in an instant,B次元官网网址� Pitts said. B次元官网网址淲e need to embrace life while we can and do whatever means are available to us to improve it for others.B次元官网网址�
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