WHY PATIENT ADVOCACY AS A FUNDRAISING MODEL FOR OVARIAN CANCER?
The ITI-OC’s harnessing of patient advocacy as a model for funding new drug discovery for a treatment for ovarian cancer is an increasingly prevalent trend in many areas of clinical investigation as a result of the following current trends in funding for orphan diseases: • Traditional biotech and pharmaceutical company funding of experimental and new ovarian cancer treatments is limited by the relatively low volume of occurrences of this cancer • Dramatic recent cutbacks in government (NIH) funding for biomedical research • Extensive time lags associated with foundation grant funding In addition to the potential fundraising benefits of using patient advocacy to drive funding for research for ovarian cancer, a patient advocacy model is also important to help women become educated about ovarian cancer and their treatment options due to: • The high number of “myths” associated with the disease • Widespread lack of understanding among woman about the risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and t
