Ovarian Cancer Action

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month 2010 was our best ever yet!

Lots of you put on your own events or took part in challenge events to help raise funds and awareness for Ovarian Cancer Action.

Thank you to all who got involved, our work just wouldn’t be possible without the support of people like you.

• The Cupcake Break inspired many of our supporters during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. A big thank you to everyone who had their cake to help beat ovarian cancer!

  Don’t forget, you can host your own Cupcake Break all your round!
  Visit www.thecupcakebreak.org.uk to read about some of our fantastic fundraisers! [new window will open]

• 

  Joy Binns held her annual fashion show in April. Joy lives in Zakynthos and is spreading the word among ex pats and the Greek community she even had our awareness materials translated for the event.

  This year she raised £1,080.83!

• Claire Wood organised a number of fund-raising events including a race night, cupcake break and an 80’s disco to raise funds towards the tribute fund set up in memory of her nan.

  So far she’s raised over £1,000!

Sponsored tattoo!

Our supporters go to extraordinary lengths for Ovarian Cancer Action.

Over 30 people got sponsored to have an ovarian cancer tattoo to show their incredible support in memory of Rebecca Brown. Rebecca tragically lost her life to ovarian cancer at the age of 25, after a four year battle with the disease.

It was originally, Rebecca’s idea to have the ovarian cancer tattoo done, but sadly she never got round to it. Her family and friends decided to have it done in her memory.

The tattoo marathon took 15 hours. Tattooist Fedja Jasarevic of Absolute Ink Tattoo Studio, a close friend of Rebecca’s husband, donated the £400 fee to Ovarian Cancer Action.

Rebecca’s mum, widower Rob, dad Martin, sister Fran, and her brothers Matthew and Liam were among the group who had the tattoo done.

Claire Scates, Rebecca’s friend said:

“Originally I thought we were going to raise around £500....so it’s amazing to have raised over £4,000! I hope this makes a difference to your charity, it's really opened the eyes of those who knew nothing about the disease, and that in itself is priceless”.
photo: Rebecca and her sister Francessca

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all our brave runners who took part in the Virgin London Marathon on 25th April 2010. They all did fantastically well on and between them they have raised over £50,000!

Thank you to ……

Rose Baldwin, Terence Bird, Louise Bradshaw, Phil Cooper, Eleanor Dittner, Sharon Dooley, Kirsty Flockhart, George Hall, Joe Hall, David Hart, James Lubbock, Hazel Martin, Nikki Moran, Vicky Priest, Simon Ratcliffe, Rob Rhead, Natalie Rideout, Madeline Seddon, Jenny Varley, Sue White, Emma Williams, Louise Williams, Emma Winrow.

On Mother’s Day this year 14 runners took part in the adidas Silverstone Half Marathon in support of Ovarian Cancer Action. Between them they have raised an incredible £9,144.17!

Special thanks to...
Karen Arnold, Caroline Brewster, Gemma Carter, Kelly Donovan, Fiona Duggan, Robin Epstein, Alessandro Fiorito, Noel Gander, John Lane, David Lathwell, Katie Mason, Ellen Orrock, Holly Peppiatt and Malcolm Peppiatt.

It was a tough race with very open, windy stretches, but all completed in very respectable times. Well done everyone!

As well as kindly donating his services as our Auctioneer at Love Art, Oliver Barker took on the arduous task of climbing Africa’s tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro. Oliver climbed in memory of his Mother in law, Fran Gillingham.

Starting just abover sea-level with the summit at nearly 6000m, Kilimanjaro is not for the feint-hearted.

Oliver completed his challenge and raised a truly outstanding amount at just under £30,000.

Despite his incredible achievements, Oliver commented:
“The adversity of this climb was little compared to the adversity and set of challenges that my wife’s mother had to face during her struggle with ovarian cancer. Fran battled this terrible disease valiantly for 18 months and sadly lost her fight last year.”

We would like to thank and congratulate Oliver on his wonderful tribute to his Mother in law.

Simon Curtis lost his mum to ovarian cancer in June 2009, a month after a friend of his also lost his mother to the same disease.

Simon decided to do something to help raise awareness:
“It’s only when you have firsthand experience of ovarian cancer that you realise it exists”.

He decided to cycle round the coast of Britan, which is approximately 6,000 miles and 3 months worth of cycling!

He set off on his ‘Cycle the Lights’ tour on the 15th March 2010. Simon’s dad Phil has joined him on his tour by travelling round the coast in a camper van.

Phil Cooper completed the Marathon de Sables, considered to be the toughest foot race on Earth, in April 2010.

The race covered an incredible 151 miles in six days in the blistering Sahara desert.

In addition to that, competitors carry everything they need for the duration on their backs.

Phil lost his mother to ovarian cancer and raised nearly £6,000 for Ovarian Cancer Action in her memory. He comments:
“I decided after the death of my mother to see what, if anything, I could do that might help others facing the same challenges she did. So I entered the toughest foot race on the planet, nothing compared to what cancer sufferers go through, but hopefully something that can raise some money to at least help others live longer, give relief where it is needed most, and continue the small steps towards a cure.”