THERE is far more to women than their breasts, especially when it comes to cancer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That is the core message of the Pink Meets Teal campaign that launched in Newcastle on Wednesday - World Ovarian Cancer Day.
A small army of women, decked out in the colours synonymous with breast and ovarian cancers, joined forces in a march to fight for fairness in funding for female cancers.
"We want ovarian cancer to reach the same survival rate as breast cancer," ABC radio personality Jill Emberson, who has terminal ovarian cancer, said.
"They have double the survival rate of us. The whole idea is to bring women with breast cancer and ovarian cancer together, and draw on the strength of both. We need the support of women who have experienced, and survived, breast cancer, because there is so many of them, and so few of us... And we tend to die quickly."
Many of the women that marched on Wednesday were survivors of breast cancer.
Some had fought ovarian cancer. Others were still fighting it.
Ms Emberson, Newcastle's 2019 Australian of the Year, said it was "all about the money."
Money led to research, and research led to better outcomes. Money raised for breast cancer had helped increase survival rates from about 72 per cent 10 years ago, to 91 per cent today.
"It has really come a long way, whereas ovarian cancer survival rates are continually stuck around 45 or 46 per cent," she said. "And we just can't wait. If it just relies on women like me to be active and campaign for it, it will never get there.
"Unless there is lot of noise and demands for change, we will be stuck with the same, really bad prognosis that it is today. The prognosis will still be in the dirt. And that really breaks my heart."
Dr Olga Ostrowskyj, a women's health physician and a breast cancer survivor, said more money needed to go towards developing an early detection test for ovarian cancer.
"There has been an awful lot of money and research focused on breast cancer, but not so much on the other female cancers like ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer," she said. "There is far more to women than just their breasts.
"Our genital organs, unlike male genital organs, are hidden, and when things go wrong, it's usually much later that things are picked up."
Dr Ostrowskyj said the "Kylie Minogues" of the world had raised awareness for breast cancer.
"They check themselves and they might notice a lump and they bring it to the doctor's attention. Whereas you can't really locate a lump on your ovary until it's way too late and it has spread," she said. "The symptoms can be very vague."
The women urged others to support Pink Meets Teal by joining their Facebook page.
"It's a numbers game, and we need more numbers to be in our corner when we go asking for money," she said. "We need women, in the broader community to say, 'This matters'. Ovarian cancer is killing - proportionately - a lot more women."
Ms Emberson returned to work earlier this year to record the ABC podcast, Still Jill, based on ovarian cancer.
"But I am tired. I'm not well," she said. "I have had to stop working again. But I will start a clinical drug trial in the next couple of weeks... I need luck now."
