‘Bring Kleenex’: Run for Ovarian Cancer research aims to increase survival rate

The Run for Ovarian Cancer took place Sunday, recognizing 16 survivors.

Each year on Mother’s Day, hundreds of people come together for the Run for Ovarian Cancer.

It’s a disease which takes the life of nearly 2,000 women in Canada each year and after diagnosis, 60 per cent will not survive past four years.

“I feel really bad to go see the children and look at the picture of their mom,” said Maria Simas, who sits at the survivor’s table.

“I’ve already recommended we bring Kleenex next year.”

Simas, 74, is one of the lucky ones who beat ovarian cancer.

“I had a pain in the springtime after working in the garden, and I thought there’s a pulled muscle I’m ignoring,” said Simas.

“It wasn’t going away, so I went to town to have it checked out, and sure enough, they told me it’s not good. I was at stage two, so I was caught still at an early stage, so I was lucky that way.”

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer for women, and it is the most serious. It also has no early detection test but if caught early, the long-term survival rate is 90 per cent.

“Ovarian cancer research has really exploded over the last 10 or 15 years, especially in Canada,” said Trevor Sheppard, a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and a scientist in the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre.

“Our research is really focused on trying to understand how this disease spreads and that is because ovarian cancer, most patients are diagnosed when the disease is already spread or metastasized. So, we’re trying to better understand the mechanisms behind that.”

Sheppard says there are new therapeutics to treat specific types of ovarian cancer which is helping improve survival rates.

“Once the disease spreads, it’s very hard to treat with surgery and chemotherapy and this disease also has the ability to come back over and over again and then become resistant. So those are a lot of the mechanisms that we’re trying to better understand. So that doesn’t happen.”

This event has raised more than $3.2 million since its inception, which is helping fund local, groundbreaking research.

“I think the more that we can advocate, researchers, survivors, families, and friends and really try to bring awareness around this disease, it’ll raise more funds, grow our research community, and we’ll be able to make these discoveries that we really need,” said Sheppard.

Simas took the stage with 15 other survivors to be recognized prior to the event.

“I’m very grateful that every day I get up and I’m able to help my children with their things and I’m just very grateful,” said Simas who had a word of advice from personal experience.

“I want people to know that if they question how they are feeling and if something is unusual get yourself looked at.”