An important step forward

An incredible 12,421 of you signed our petition to fund a clinical audit of ovarian cancer — thank you. Marie-Claire Platt, Head of Campaigns at Ovarian Cancer Action, discusses the government's response and what comes next.

Transforming ovarian cancer survival rates is at the heart of everything we do - through funding research, spreading awareness and campaigning for change, we’re fighting for a world where no woman dies from ovarian cancer. However, it’s clear we have a long way to go to make this vision a reality. The UK has one of the worst ovarian cancer survival rates in Europe, and there are serious disparities in survival within the UK as well. Women everywhere deserve better; no one’s chance of survival should be determined by their postcode.

Back in March we launched a campaign to radically improve ovarian cancer survival rates for women across the UK. We want to build a national picture of ovarian cancer that maps patients’ journeys around the country from diagnosis through to treatment and beyond. This will allow us to get to the root of regional variation, highlight best practice, and identify where we need to see change. But there’s a frustrating lack of data available. That’s why we’re calling on the Government to fund a national clinical audit of ovarian cancer.

Although the petition is now closed, in six months over 12,400 of you signed our petition to fund a clinical audit of ovarian cancer. We can’t thank you enough for throwing your support behind this campaign. Thanks to you signing and sharing, the Government has now responded to the petition. 

While the response isn’t the yes we’ve been hoping for, it is an important step forward. The Government have said they are considering a national clinical audit of ovarian cancer and will make a decision in the next six months. Thanks to the petition, the Government now knows that there is considerable public support for an ovarian cancer audit. But we’re not stopping there. We’ll be working closely with Public Health England and continuing our campaign over the next six months while the Government’s discussions continue — and we still need your help.

Our next step is to collect your stories. We want to paint a picture of the people that ovarian cancer affects women around the country. Whether it’s yourself or a loved one, a good experience or something that should have been done differently — we want the Government to hear about it. We’ll be bringing together the good and the bad to show them how an ovarian cancer audit will change lives. Please send your stories to campaigns@ovarian.org.uk. 

A really big thank you to everyone who has supported this campaign so far. We’re fighting for a better future for women with ovarian cancer. You can join our fight — send your story or donate £10 so that we can continue this important campaign.  

Marie-Claire
Head of Campaigns

Ovarian Cancer Action