MONTREAL, April 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Media personality and business woman Julie Snyder knows how devastating a diagnosis of ovarian cancer can be. Snyder lost her mother to ovarian cancer in 2018. In 2020, almost 3,000 women were diagnosed with the disease and an estimated 1,950 died from it. More can be done to help save women’s lives. To ensure no more women, mothers, sisters, aunts, daughters or friends will be lost. How? With the DOvEE project.
The MUHC’s Director of Gynecologic Oncology, Dr. Lucy Gilbert founded the Detecting Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers Early (DOvEE) project. Ovarian and endometrial cancers are known as “silent killers” because they present no symptoms until they have spread to other parts of the body. By the time cancer is detected, women face grim survival rates.
In 2018, Dr. Gilbert developed the DOvEEgene test: a simple diagnostic test that detects ovarian and endometrial cancers in their early stages, ensuring a greater chance of survival. The DOvEEgene test works much like a pap smear does for cervical cancer.
Julie Snyder and the MUHC Foundation are dreaming big together to raise $500,000. This will fund the final stages of the DOvEE phase 3 clinical trial in Montreal. 2600 women will take part in the trial, helping to change the course of medicine for future generations. Women from 45 to 70 years old can register to participate in the trial, which is set to begin in May.
A Meaningful Collaboration
Watch Snyder’s show, Noovo’s La semaines des 4 Julie the week of April 5th as she goes on a mission to save the lives of women like her own mother. Snyder will showcase the impact of Dr. Gilbert’s work with survivor’s stories and information. Snyder will be encouraging Quebecers to invest in DOvEE by texting JULIE to 41010 to make a $25 donation.
The MUHC Foundation and Julie Snyder want all Quebecers to join together and ensure there will be No More Women Lost to ovarian and endometrial cancers. Together, we can make these cancers detectable and curable. The campaign continues until Mother’s Day on May 9th.
Visit: www.dreambigwithjulie.ca for more information.
Interviews available with:
Julie Snyder, Host, La semaine des 4 Julie
Dr. Lucy Gilbert (English only, but a DOvEE representative is available for French interviews)
Julie Quenneville, President, MUHC Foundation
Suzanne Darcy, Cancer Survivor
Louise Solomita, lost her mother to Ovarian Cancer
About the McGill University Health Centre Foundation:
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation raises funds to support excellence in patient care, research and teaching at the McGill University Health Centre, one of the top university hospitals in Canada. Our Dream Big Campaign to change the course of lives and medicine is raising millions of dollars to solve humanity’s deadliest puzzles: infectious diseases; end cancer as a life-threatening illness; fix broken hearts through innovative cardiac care; detect the silent killers—ovarian and endometrial cancers—early; create the best skilled health care teams in Canada; and much more. We are rallying our entire community to solve the world’s most complex health care challenges.
Media Contacts:
Tarah Schwartz
Director, Communications & Marketing
McGill University Health Centre Foundation
tarah.schwartz@muhc.mcgill.ca
Kelly Albert
Communications Officer
McGill University Health Centre Foundation
kelly.albert@muhc.mcgill.ca
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47647146-5a9e-4fbc-ac65-83c3fa8d8a60