World Ovarian Cancer Day — recognized on May 8 each year since 2013 — is an initiative of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, an organization that is an official Strategic Advocacy Partner of the IGCS and key ally within the International Gynecologic Cancer Advocacy Network.
This year, IGCS and IGCAN are extending the spirit of World Ovarian Cancer Day throughout the entire month of May, highlighting important issues and our programs dedicated to ovarian cancer.
According to Globocan’s 2020 data, ovarian cancer is the 7th most common cancer among women and the 8th most common cause of death from cancer globally. Each year, approximately 314,000 women are diagnosed and 207,000 will die from the disease. Ovarian cancer incidence is projected to rise almost 40% by 2040 with low-resource countries bearing the greatest burden. 70% of women diagnosed each year live in low- or middle-income countries, where overall data about the burden of the disease is insufficient to guide public-health priorities.
The 2018 Every Woman Study™ found that too many women are being left behind as they wait for diagnoses. The reasons for late diagnoses may be that women are not aware of the symptoms and risk factors, lack of awareness among health professionals and/or the time it can take for health systems to complete diagnostic tests.
IGCS and the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition have made it easy for you to help raise awareness about ovarian cancer on social media.
Download these graphics and gifs (in English and branded for IGCS and IGCAN) to share on social media on and around World Ovarian Cancer Day, graciously provided by the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition. And here, you can access the entire library of artwork, including translations in 48 languages.
Through IGCS programs, our members are hard at work to educate and empower clinicians and researchers to build capacity in health systems to enable timely access to diagnostic tests and to advocate for systematic changes and improvements in care. Together, we can achieve more. Join us this May 8th as we raise our voices in solidarity to make sure that no woman is left behind.
Special Offers on Ovarian Cancer Physician Education
In recognition of World Ovarian Cancer Day, the IGCS Education Committee is offering the following educational courses at no cost for both members and non-members through June 15. Usually only available to paying members, these six ovarian cancer webinars are now accessible in IGCS Education360 Learning Portal for anyone with an account. Just login with your member or guest account!
IGCS 2022 Annual Global Meeting Master Session: Ovarian Cancer
Upper Abdominal Surgery for Ovarian Cancer - Surgical Film Festival
Ovarian Cancer Surgery - Surgical Film Festival
Folate Alpha Targeting: Exciting New Options for Platinum Resistance Ovarian Cancer Patients
Updates in Ovarian Cancer: English, Spanish and Portuguese
Pathology Webinar - Interoperative Diagnosis of Ovarian Tumours: Back to Basics
Data from Patients & Health Professionals
Data from Patients: The Every Woman Study™
The widening care gap is the reason IGCS has partnered with the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition to document the experiences of women with ovarian cancer in up to 30 low- and middle-income countries from pre-diagnosis through post-treatment.
The Every Woman Study™ Low- and Middle-Income Edition is currently underway and the results are expected this year. When the Coalition conducted the same study in 2018, which mostly captured data from high-income countries, they developed the Global Ovarian Cancer Charter, intended to drive short- and medium- term improvements for women no matter where they live.
Data from Health Professionals: Project GEOCC
In 2022, IGCS embarked on an initiative — Project GEOCC (Global Equality in Ovarian Cancer Care) — to assess and address ovarian cancer care at a global level. Data collected from 1,509 specialists in 115 countries highlight the inequities in ovarian cancer care worldwide by helping us to understand current practices and the availability of treatment modalities worldwide. The workgroup manuscript is in progress, and we plan to share the findings and recommendations at the 2023 IGCS Annual Global Meeting in Seoul.
Together, these research studies will arm the global community with data to better understand to landscape of ovarian cancer care and inform future strategies to close the care gap, driving earlier detection and enhancements in ovarian (and gynecologic) cancer care worldwide.
Get Involved
Participating in the 11th World Ovarian Cancer Day couldn’t be easier!
It can be as simple as a social media post, encouraging others to learn and share information about ovarian cancer. Maybe you want to have a Teal event with friends or colleagues? Get everyone to have some fun with teal outfits and accessories – and, of course, post it for more awareness. Create your own signs, posters, etc., with the WOCC’s downloadable graphics.
By taking part in World Ovarian Cancer Day, you can help change the future of this disease by increasing awareness of symptoms and the need for more research. Together, we can reach our goal of #NoWomanLeftBehind