Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month: Stories of Hope and Strength

“One thing I was sure of was that I wanted to be a mom, it was terrible to have that taken away from me.”

Diagnosed in her early 20s, Chelsea Madrick had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes. Unable to conceive naturally, she turned to IVF.

Read Chelsea’s story of gratitude, having realized her dream of having children after facing ovarian cancer, and how she’s helping to fuel groundbreaking immunotherapy research to treat the elusive disease.

“Katrina was strong and tough, a 6-foot-1 Amazon. And yet, one year later she was gone.”

Bianca Hayes channeled her grief at losing her sister, Katrina, to ovarian cancer into cycling to fundraise for ovarian cancer research.

Read Bianca’s inspiring story including raising more than $145,000 and becoming the fastest woman to cycle across Canada.

“I’ve had this great weight lifted off my shoulders. I have a dramatically reduced risk of cancer going forward.”

The average woman in B.C. has a 2% risk of developing ovarian cancer. For Val Heyman that risk increased to 50% after she discovered she carried an inherited BRCA gene mutation.

Read Val’s courageous story and the proactive steps she’s taking to reduce her cancer risk.

“I thought my extreme fatigue, bloating and back pain were due to perimenopause.”

Ovarian cancer is difficult to detect, and often diagnosed late-stage, due to the fact that symptoms —  such as the ones Ann Squires Ferguson experienced — often mimic other reproductive health challenges.

Read Ann’s story of resilience and how she took her power back, and raised $26,000, by allowing her then 12-year-old twins to shave her head at a public fundraising event.

“Three ovarian cancer diagnoses, losing my fertility and menopause — at 33 years old.”

As a “cancer athlete,” running brings Gillian Roberts peace of mind while facing metastatic cancer.

Read Gillian’s story of strength, having recently participated as a charity runner in the BMO Vancouver half marathon — her first since her diagnosis in 2019 — raising more than $3,000 to help fuel ovarian cancer research, such as the chemotherapy drug trial she’s currently on.