Women's Health Crisis - Powerful Speech At Parliament Steps Today

We stand here: Jane Ludemann founder of Cure Our Ovarian Cancer, and Tash Crosby of Talk Peach to present to you a petition signed by thousands of New Zealanders calling for improvements in outcomes for ovarian cancer.

182 crosses, 182 sisters, mothers, daughters and friends who lose their lives to ovarian cancer every year.

So much has changed in the previous 12 months but for women with ovarian cancer everything remains devastatingly the same.

Ten years ago Suzee visited her doctor with the typical symptoms of ovarian cancer and instead of receiving the necessary blood test and ultrasound, she was referred to a psychiatrist and told her symptoms were psychosomatic. By the time she got a diagnosis, her cancer was advanced. It took her life soon after. She was 44 years old.

Last year Kelly visited her doctor with typical symptoms. And instead of being offered the necessary blood test and ultrasound, she was told she had a personality disorder. By the time she could find someone to take her seriously, her tumour was 3 litres in size. She now faces an uncertain future.

We’d love to say that these were exceptions but the reality is, we hear stories like this nearly every day. Whether it’s in your head, or you just need to lose some weight, or eat more All Bran… it would be comical if it wasn’t costing women’s lives.

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In 2020 it’s not uncommon for women with ovarian cancer to experience a profound sense of shame around their diagnosis.

I did. Because I had symptoms for awhile before I told a doctor. And then when I did, I wasn’t taken seriously. And I had to go back more than ten times over two years. They thought I was a hypochondriac. I thought I was a hypochondriac. But something wasn’t right. Finally the pain was so severe, and the cancer caused complications that needed emergency surgery. And the first feeling was one of relief. That I wasn’t crazy. That there was something real. Quickly followed by the devastation and disbelief that at 32 years old, I could now count my likely life expectancy on two hands.

And then I thought what bad luck. This cancer must be so rare because I’d never heard of it, and neither had my doctors.

Until I discovered that it’s our 5th most common cause of female cancer death. That it kills more women than the road toll and a bunch of other cancers that we hear so much more about. Yet no one ever told me the symptoms. My doctors didn’t know. The ministry of health and Te Aho O Te Kahu Cancer Control Agency don’t even have it on their website. The survival rates are less than half that of breast and prostate cancer but most years the government doesn’t fund any research. It’s rare to see it in the news, and instead of well funded professional charities, fun runs, cake stalls and ribbons in our colour everywhere… there is silence.

It makes you feel like there is something wrong with you. Tell me that’s not shameful.

I know I look the picture of health, but I am anything but. I live my life on constant cancer treatment. I should get to spend my last years with friends and family, ticking off a few of the experiences I thought I had an entire lifetime to do instead I spend my time fighting for others. Because this can not continue. We’re losing too many women with this disease. So even if I feel sick and tired I stand up for them, because they’re no longer here to use their voice and I owe it to my friends to raise awareness and funds for this disease because the outcomes are just not acceptable.

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I was diagnosed in 2017 and the only reason i'm standing here today is because on the third time they discharged me from the emergency department with a pack of panadol; I begged for further and refused to leave, women shouldn't have to beg for their lives, it is inhumane that this is what we go through every day in this country, In 10 years time I don't want to see that nothing has changed I can't bear to see more and more people dying of something they never heard of , never knew the signs of or that no one cared to research for, it breaks my heart EVERY single day receiving messages from those needing support and feeling like they got the cancer no one gives a shit about or is too scared to speak up about this silence is killing our communities, it is a silent crisis the symptoms are loud the women are speaking but no one is listening.

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We stand together, in this sea of crosses, to remind you that more women die of ovarian cancer than our road toll. And we want to ask, why. Why when it’s a road accident are these lives worth $1 billion dollars a year to try and save. And yet … as soon as this teal ribbon gets added, we put no value on it at all. Because the sad truth is that most years the New Zealand government spends absolutely nothing trying to reduce the death toll from ovarian cancer. No awareness, no research. Nothing.

We are calling for women to be told about ovarian cancer. For medical guidelines. For NZ women to have the same treatment options as Australians because 9 of these women would still be alive if we did. And we are calling for research because it’s our least survivable women’s cancer.

It’s time for the silence on ovarian cancer to end. It’s time for GP guidelines and prompt testing. Of all these women, 9 would still be alive if they lived in Australia. It’s time to fund more treatments, and clinical trials. And as our least survivable women’s cancer - it’s time to fund research.

So please accept this petition, and this koha of stories by brave women with ovarian cancer. Don’t take their words for granted. Our lives depend on you.

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