On Saturday 7 October Ladies’ Captain Vivienne Parr presented a cheque to members of the CRUK Cambridge Centre and ovarian cancer patient group.
Over the last year the Ladies’ teams have organised coffee mornings, raffles, golfing events and other activities to raise funds for our research.
“We chose to support ovarian cancer research this year because, having worked for over a decade in a cancer research team analysing the genetics of cancer, I know how much harder it has become to secure funding for research,” Vivienne explained.
“We very much hope that our contribution helps your team in the early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer.”
“You have an amazing team who are dedicated, vocational and determined to make early diagnosis available to everyone and to find ultimately a cure for this terrible disease.”
In March, Professor James Brenton who co-leads ovarian cancer research for the CRUK Cambridge Centre, and Dr Marie-Lyne Alcaraz, Programme Manager, were guest speakers at a fundraising lunch attended by nearly 90 members of the Club.
The biggest fundraising event of the year is the Club’s annual Charity Day which takes place in September and, in addition to golf competitions, includes an auction of donated gifts such as golfing days at other clubs, spa days, and vouchers from local services.
On receiving the donation, Karen Barker, Science Operations Manager at the CRUK Cambridge Centre said: “Through our dedicated research programme we are making great progress in understanding the complexities of ovarian cancer so that we can diagnose and treat the disease more precisely, but we still have a long way to go.
“We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone at Ely City Golf Club for their tireless fundraising activities over the last year, raising vital funds for our ovarian cancer research.”
The group brings together over 30 patients who participate in our research studies and clinical trials and, most importantly, enables our researchers to engage with patients and understand what’s important to them in terms of diagnosing and treating the disease. Their input is invaluable in shaping our research strategy and helping us design the most effective research studies and clinical trials.
Margaret said: “Through being part of the Ovarian Cancer Programme, I’ve seen the dedication of the research and medical teams who are extremely committed and hard-working in their attempts to make breakthroughs.”
You can read more about Margaret’s and Melanie’s stories here and Barbara’s story here.
It is with great sadness we announce that Margaret passed away on 27 March 2024.
Margaret was an active member of the Public and Patient Involvement Group for Ovarian Cancer for over three years, following her diagnosis of stage 3 ovarian cancer. Despite undergoing recurrence of her cancer and gruelling treatment, she generously shared her personal experience of ovarian cancer to support others and inform our research. In her role as a core member of the pioneering DEMO project, she was passionate about increasing the understanding and uptake of genetic testing in ovarian cancer patients, especially in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.
We are so grateful to Margaret for giving her time and energy selflessly to raise awareness of ovarian cancer research and the need to do more to help ovarian cancer patients in future.
