A group of Target Ovarian Cancer campaigners standing outside the Senedd

Driving change in 2023 by campaigning

Find out more about the impact of our campaigning work last year, and what we've got coming up for 2024!

I do it for the women in the future.

This is just one of many reasons our campaigners do what they do.  

Writing time after time to their MPs, standing in the cold speaking to other women about symptoms, and knocking on the doors of GPs.

It’s all to change the future for women who will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

We wanted to take a moment to look back over 2023, and celebrate some of the ways that together we’ve been driving change in ovarian cancer.  

Our 2023 campaigning achievements in numbers:  

🚆 3,870 – miles covered across the UK to meet MPs, MSs and MLAs.

💻 2,400 – online campaigning actions taken to demand change.

🧑 15 – Target Ovarian Cancer Champions committed to supporting our priorities.

🗣️ 60 – key conversations held influence ovarian cancer policy in all nations.

💊 2 – more lifechanging drugs into routine commissioning - olaparib and bevacizmuab for HRD positive, and olaparib from second line for BRCA positive.

A photo of Sbba sitting at a table smiling
I want to empower women to have their own voice, make informed decisions and give them the best possible chance of surviving ovarian cancer.
Sbba, diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2022.

Ensuring injustices are addressed  

7,500 women in the UK are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, and yet they continued to be let down. We're determined to stop the injustices that face our community by providing the evidence and experiences that cannot be ignored.  

Tackling surgery delays in Scotland

Access to surgery should not depend on where you live. In 2023, we identified a harrowing systematic failure where women in the West of Scotland weren’t able to access the surgery they needed. 

We presented evidence to Scottish parliament, and empowered women to share their devastating experiences. We had meetings with the Minister for Women’s and Public Health and other MSPs to demand equal access to surgery and addressing regional inequalities. 

A photo of Mags from October 2022 - the last day she had all her hair before it started to fall out as a result of chemo
I teamed up with other women affected and Target Ovarian Cancer’s Policy and Campaigns team for a series of meetings with the Minister of Women’s and Public Health and other MSPs to draw attention to the issue and demand an end to inequality in care across Scotland.
Mags

Making the unheard, heard  

We gave evidence at the Welsh Health and Social Care Committee into gynaecological cancers as Wales has one of the worst survival rates in Europe. For too long women have gone unheard. This evidence saw the Committee make welcome recommendations:  

  • To improve diagnosis
  • To promote symptom awareness campaigns
  • Provide more support for clear information provided at cervical screening.  

Read more about this

We also continued our fight for symptoms awareness with a petition in partnership with the National Federation for Women’s Institutes in Wales demanding the Welsh government take urgent action on worrying symptoms in Wales.  

Linda giving a speech at the Senedd
It's so empowering to use my experience to inspire change in the Welsh government that draws more attention to ovarian cancer.
Linda

Engaging decision-makers  

Teal Heroes has been a longstanding event we hold at Westminster to engage politicians. In 2023, we saw 50 MPs attend to raise awareness of the symptoms. 

We've taken this a step further and launched the Target Ovarian Cancer Champions which has seen 15 elected representatives join and commit to raising questions in parliament and fronting the issues faced by those with ovarian cancer.  

Campaigning in 2024

Informed by Pathfinder 2022: Faster, further and fairer, we'll continue to put pressure on the government to accelerate progress in ovarian cancer. If you’re not part of our campaigning community and feel inspired, today you can:  

  1. Write to your MP – ask them to become a Target Ovarian Cancer Champion
  2. Raise awareness – download our resources and share them on your community notice boards
  3. Influence your local healthcare systems – join our Red Flag campaign, download the postcards and take them to your GP

To find out more, get in touch with the Policy and Campaigns team.

Sign up to become a campaigner