Ovaries. Talk About Them. is the slogan of a campaign to save women’s lives.
Brother and sister clothing designers Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman were 11 and 13 respectively when their mother died of ovarian cancer.
The clothing brand, CAMILLA AND MARC in partnership with Associate Professor Caroline Ford at the Gynaecological Cancer Research Group, UNSW Sydney proudly launch the Ovaries. Talk About Them. campaign today, Monday April 12.
Creative Director Camilla Freeman-Topper and CEO Marc Freeman sadly lost their mother to ovarian cancer 27 years ago.
Motivated by their devastating loss, CAMILLA AND MARC launched Ovaries. Talk About Them. in 2020 to provide awareness of and direct research funding for an early detection test led by Associate Professor Caroline Ford at the Gynaecological Cancer Research Group, UNSW Sydney.
Every dollar raised goes to research and development
Every dollar raised from this campaign goes directly to A/Prof Caroline Ford’s team to fast track the development of an early detection test that will be ground-breaking for this disease.
To date, CAMILLA AND MARC has raised a remarkable $225,000, kickstarting the further development of an early detection test and enabling the UNSW research group to employ two key female scientists to focus solely on this work.
This year, CAMILLA AND MARC will again launch Ovaries. Talk About Them. with an even greater philanthropic vision and a firm five-year mission which will come to life with the debut of a new unisex line of limited-edition t-shirts and hoodies, of which 100% of sale proceeds will go directly to research.
A/Prof Caroline Ford said the injection of funds from the first successful year of the Ovaries. Talk About Them. campaign has allowed UNSW to create a dedicated expert team of researchers focused on the development of an early detection test for ovarian cancer.
Funds from the campaign have significantly progressed the development
‘The funds from the campaign have significantly progressed the development of our early detection test. This funding has meant an increased focus and our outlook is extremely positive. In the last 12 months, the team have identified a set of DNA changes specific for ovarian cancer and have begun the process of testing these in the lab on cells from patients,’ said A/Prof Ford.
‘Continued funding will mean trialling and testing in blood from diverse groups of women will happen more quickly which will help to maximise accuracy and move the test to clinical trials. We are hopeful that we could be just years away from an early detection test which would be ground-breaking for this disease.’
The 2021 Ovaries. Talk About Them. limited-edition t-shirt (RRP $110) and limited-edition hoodie (RRP $200) will be available at CAMILLA AND MARC boutiques nationwide and online at camillaandmarc.com.
CAMILLA AND MARC is encouraging those who buy the t-shirt or hoodie to share their experience on social media with the following hashtags: #ovariestalkaboutthem #powerandsolidarity #CAMILLAANDMARC.
Visit the fundraising page here: ovaries-talk-about-them.raisely.com.