It does not discriminate | BC Women's Foundation

It does not discriminate
February 9 2017 8:19am
Cervical cancer has been definitively linked to the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and impacts women in the prime of their life. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Cervical cancer kills women, leaves children motherless, devastates families and cripples communities.

Cervical cancer impacts women in the prime of their life, typically between the ages of 30-50 years. It is a disease that preys on women with the least resources, those who are marginalized, immigrant, Aboriginal, women of colour or low-income, whether they live here in Canada or in developing nations.

Kerry, a cervical cancer survivor on a pier — A letter from Kerry Kenwood
May 9 2017 9:55am
I want to tell you a story of how my life was drastically altered when a PAP test led to a call that no woman ever wants to get. “You have cervical cancer.” The words echoed in my head. The moment may have seemed surreal, but the urgency in the doctor’s voice was not a dream. My little girls were all I could think of.

With your help, they won't have to experience what I went through...

What if I wasn’t there for them? It felt like a clock was now ticking. I had an impossible decision to make – radiation therapy or surgical removal of my cervix and uterus? The choice was excruciating.

Too many women face this unbearable threat to their lives. Needlessly.

Each year in Canada, 1,300 women learn they have cervical cancer. It hits them in the prime of their life, from the ages of 30 to 50. Sadly, each year 390 of them will die.

Their children will be motherless. Their families will be affected forever. You can help today with your donation.

On my journey with cervical cancer I learned that it is one of the world’s most deadly forms of cancer.

Ironically, it’s also one of the most preventable.

That’s why researchers at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre have been working so hard to change the cervical cancer story. They know their local action is paving the way for the global eradication of cervical cancer.

Thankfully, there are people like you supporting their progress! I’m so incredibly grateful for your support.
Today, while you're reading this, I urge you to make a generous donation. Your gift will help so that fewer women like me have to battle cervical cancer. And it will help ensure our daughters never go through what I did.

You see, researchers at BC Women’s are leading the way in the science of preventing cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer has been proven to be linked to the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Thanks to research, it’s possible to vaccinate to prevent HPV infection.

These brilliant researchers are determined to put an end to cervical cancer in our lifetime! They have a three part plan:

1. They are influencing international protocols for vaccination

2. They are creating screening tests for earlier detection

3. And they are advancing treatment for a disease that takes lives needlessly.

I’m happy to tell you that I’m thriving today, two years after my diagnosis. I chose surgery to remove my cancer. Today I’m alive and here for my family.

As for the future: with your help, my daughters and other women won’t experience cervical cancer, thanks to the vaccine.

With that in mind, you’ll be happy to know that BC Women’s researchers are working to make vaccination and screening even easier. They are dedicated to battling a disease that claims the lives of women across the globe by starting right here.

Your gift to the women of BC will soon be British Columbia’s gift to the rest of the world. You can change things for the girl next door, as well as girls and women who are the most impoverished or marginalized – indigenous women, immigrants and low-income women will all benefit from your support of this historical work.

BC Women’s researchers are creating and sharing new knowledge, but they can’t do it alone. It will take the help of visionary donors, like you, to initiate the global change that will soon turn cervical cancer into a distant memory.

You can help eradicate cervical cancer forever – at home and abroad. That’s a powerful gift to give. Please make your donation without delay.

With warmest wishes for you and yours,

Kerry Kenwood

Mother of Two Daughters, and Cervical Cancer Survivor

P.S. You can be a part of medical history this holiday season by making your donation to BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre Foundation. Let’s stop cervical cancer in its tracks!

Gina, a leader to end cervical cancer head shot — Ending Cervical Cancer
May 9 2017 9:49am
Women in the prime of their lives are needlessly dying. Dr. Gina Ogilvie and her fellow researchers at BC Women’s have the answers. They are leaders in the global effort to end cervical cancer. All they need is you…

Cervical cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer
February 9 2017 8:19am
"Cervical cancer is one of the gravest threats to women’s lives… most of these women have not been diagnosed, nor do they have access to treatment that could cure them or prolong their lives." World Health Organization

This cancer is completely preventable
February 9 2017 8:20am
Armed with a vaccine that prevents infection, BC Women’s research team is taking the lead on innovating screening tests for early detection, protocols for inoculation and model treatments for cervical cancer. Like the eradication of polio, we have the tools and knowledge to eliminate this deadly cancer.

We can see this disease end in our lifetime
February 9 2017 8:20am
The World Health Organization is poised to act on the guidance of experts. BC Women’s Hospital is leading the challenge to develop a roadmap that ensures women and girls worldwide have equitable access to prevention and treatment.

Help lead the global effort to eradicate cervical cancer.
February 9 2017 8:20am
Together we can find the right combination of effective and affordable tools to prevent and treat cervical cancer at home and abroad. Supporting the experts’ ability to finish charting this journey will mean the difference between life and death for millions of women and girls.

Be a part of medical history
February 9 2017 8:21am
BC Women’s has a proven track record. Cervical cancer can be eliminated while also learning more about dealing with other viral‑based cancers. By donating to BC Women’s, your investment delivers tangible results and will be a catalyst for worldwide change.

About the experts
February 9 2017 8:22am
Leading research positions, training and service in women’s reproductive and maternal health, BC Women’s as an international leader in creating new knowledge and advancement in practice-changing projects, putting an end cervical cancer.

Dr. Gina Ogilvie, Canada Research Chair, Global Control of HPV-related Diseases and Women’s Cancers; Assistant Director, Women's Health Research Institute, BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC and a physician at BC Women’s. Dr. Ogilvie is leading a $6 million clinical trial – The HPV Focal Study - comparing HPV testing to pap screening, the only one of its kind in North America with results that will inform international health policy guidelines. Dr. Ogilvie is also the global lead for ASPIRE (Advances in Screening and Prevention in Reproductive Cancers), an international partnership examining innovative methods to prevent cancers for women in low and middle income setting. Her work is supported by global partners, and is highly influential in establishing policies to bridge the cancer divide for women. She has over 80 peer reviewed publications and stewards over $25 million dollars in research grants in the field of women’s health.

Dr. Deborah Money, Executive Vice Dean, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, and former VP Research at BC Women's hospital, is one of only 5 clinical researchers in Canada with specialized training in Reproductive Infectious Disease. Dr. Money is internationally recognized for her ground-breaking work including the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, infectious diseases in pregnancy, and HPV (human papillomavirus) and cervical cancer. She currently leads CIHR funded studies on the impact of the HPV vaccine on HIV+ girls. Dr. Money is a global leader in research on the prevention of preterm birth through the understanding of the vaginal microbiome; and the use of genomic technology to generate simple diagnostic and personalized therapy for women at risk. She is Past President of the International Infectious Diseases Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a leading creator of provincial and national guidelines for the treatment of HIV in pregnancy. Dr. Money has published over 130 peer reviewed journals and currently stewards over $10 million in research grants.