After losing their mother to ovarian cancer 26 years ago, at ages 11 and 13, the creative sibling duo, Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman, have set their minds to building awareness for the little-talked about disease that is known as a silent killer.
With minimal warning signs and no early detection test, once women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it is often too late. Three women women die from this form of cancer every day in Australia, and globally, 300,000 women are diagnosed every year.
The campaign from Camilla and Marc, titled ‘Ovaries. Talk About Them’, is happening in partnership with UNSW Sydney, where Professor Caroline Ford is at the cutting edge of research for developing an early detection test.
Today @camillaandmarc launched the #ovariestalkaboutthem campaign w @UNSW & @DrCFord
to generate awareness & raise funds for #ovariancancer research. You can help by 1) purchasing a Limited Edition t-shirt 2) making a donation https://t.co/i3YY9BbFhn @UNSWMedicine #camillaandmarc pic.twitter.com/Cu9Qk9f1ut— UNSW Prince of Wales Clinical School (@UNSW_POWCS) March 1, 2020
“I think one of the biggest things about ovarian cancer is once someones found with this type of cancer, its generally at a really late stage so life expectancies do not look great,” Marc said in a video posted to Instagram.
“Professor Caroline Ford at the ovarian cancer research centre is doing some amazing research into early detection of ovarian cancer.”
An incredible honour to be part of the @camillaandmarc campaign to raise awareness & much needed funds for #ovariancancer & our research @UNSW #ovariestalkaboutthem #powerandsolidarity pic.twitter.com/4z2ay2Htnd
— A/Prof Caroline Ford (@DrCFord) March 1, 2020
“We felt the time was now to talk about something that is so deeply personal to us, something that we’ve never publicly talked about because we have a voice and we can speak out for the people who are suffering and the families that have endured an enormous amount of pain,” Camilla says.
Camilla and Marc have produced a collection of limited edition t-shirts as part of the campaign, with all proceeds donated to Ovarian Cancer Research UNSW.
“The main reason the statistics for ovarian cancer have not changed since my mother’s death is sadly due to underfunding which stems from a lack of awareness. We believe we can change that,” Marc wrote on Instagram.
In a series of personal messages on Instagram, a collection of Australian celebrities including Zoe Foster-Blake, Theresa Palmer, Nicole Warne, Karl Stefanovic, Jessica Rowe, Peter Overton and Anna Heinrich have gotten behind the campaign.
The t-shirts are now available online here and in-store at Camilla and Marc boutiques across Australia. You can also donate directly to the fundraiser here.