A new campaign is advocating for access to a life-extending ovarian cancer treatment in Canada. Earlier in the month, Ovarian Cancer Canada launched the “Share Your Voice” campaign – an initiative aimed at persuading decision-makers to secure public access to a medication called Elahere. According to the organization, Elahere is the first new treatment option for women with recurrent ovarian cancer in more than a decade. Gynecologic oncologist Dr. Lesley Roberts explained that though there are “excellent” treatment options for ovarian cancer upon initial diagnosis, cancer often comes back. “In the recurrent setting, that’s where we start to struggle a little bit more,” she said in an interview with Your Morning Winnipeg on Monday. “Recurrent ovarian cancer is felt to be incurable, and our treatment options are limited.” Roberts said there are treatment options for recurrent ovarian cancer, including Elahere, that have been approved by Health Canada but have not yet been funded. Now, Ovarian Cancer Canada is encouraging Canadians to participate in the “Share Your Voice” campaign to help get Canadians access to these medications. “Essentially, [Ovarian Cancer Canada] is trying to get the voice of patients, loved ones of patients, practitioners who are looking after ovarian cancer patients to speak together, to push the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to get new medications available to our patients,” Roberts said. Those interested in getting involved are asked to write letters to their government officials and call for access to these medications. More information is available online.
