The Clearity Foundation Recognized by San Diego City Council for Patient Advocacy and Education
La Jolla, Calif. – Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - Women with the most lethal gynecologic cancer and their advocates were honored yesterday at the San Diego City Council meeting when Councilmember Sherri S. Lightner presented a proclamation declaring September 2012 to be “Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month” in the City of San Diego. Lightner and fellow Councilmember Marti Emerald commended the contributions of local organizations The Clearity Foundation and the Ovarian Cancer Advocacy Alliance of San Diego for increasing awareness of the disease and advancing ovarian cancer research towards early diagnosis. Lightner lost two dear friends to ovarian cancer, known as a “silent killer” for its vague initial symptoms that make it difficult to detect until the cancer is advanced. Emerald echoed Lightner’s gratitude to the patient advocacy organizations and in a brief diversion from the formality of a usual Council meeting, reflected on the late diagnosis and loss of her favorite aunt who died of the disease.
There to accept the honor was Hillary Theakston, executive director of The Clearity Foundation, and Peg Ford, an ovarian cancer survivor and chair of the Ovarian Cancer Advocacy Alliance.
“While we’ve made amazing progress in improving survival for some cancers, the odds for women with ovarian cancer have not improved significantly since 1950. The Clearity Foundation is working to change that,” said Hillary Theakston, Executive Director, The Clearity Foundation, at the Council meeting. “The best way to defeat ovarian cancer is to catch it early and personalize treatment for each patient. Women whose cancer recurs undergo a trial and error process of trying different chemos and hoping the right one is selected. This blind selection does not make use of advanced genomic technologies – some developed and utilized right here in San Diego – to personalize treatment. The Clearity Foundation has helped hundreds of women throughout the country to understand the characteristics of their cancer to make better treatment decisions,” Theakston concluded.
The Clearity Foundation was founded by Laura Shawver, Ph.D., one of San Diego’s biotech entrepreneurs who is also an ovarian cancer survivor and scientist. She knew that there were technologies that could be applied to help personalize treatment today.
Ford is a tireless advocate of early ovarian cancer detection and spearheads educational outreach programs at the Ovarian Cancer Advocacy Alliance of San Diego. At the Council meeting, she presented a new ovarian cancer symptom application to help women learn about the risks, signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. This first-of-its-kind app allows a woman to track symptoms that could indicate ovarian cancer. It’s available free of charge at www.ovariancancer.org/app/.
