Today, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition released a video in which I share my ovarian cancer story. The Coalition is a global not-for-profit that is focused on ovarian cancer. It brings together close to 200 patient advocacy organizations from around the world with the aim of helping to ensure that "everyone living with, or at risk of, ovarian cancer has the best chance of survival and the best quality of life possible, no matter where they live."

My video is one of many in the Coalition's Inspiring Voices series, which shares the stories of people touched by ovarian cancer. The series includes perspectives from patients and caregivers as well as clinicians and researchers from around the world.

In my seven-minute video, I focus on my experience as a carrier of a mutation in my BRCA2 (or BReast CAncer 2) gene. The BRCA2 gene is a tumor suppressor gene. It produces a protein that helps to prevent cells from growing and dividing in uncontrolled ways. People with a potentially harmful change in their BRCA2 gene may be at a higher risk of developing ovarian, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer.

I explain that following my diagnosis with ovarian cancer in 2020, I learned that I had a BRCA2 mutation in the cancerous tumours removed during surgery. Subsequent testing confirmed that the BRCA2 mutation was in all cells of my body, which meant that I had inherited the gene change from one of my parents and might have passed it on to my children. I was initially disheartened to learn that I carried a gene mutation that not only contributed to my ovarian cancer but also put me at increased risk of developing other cancers, most notably breast cancer. However, after three or four days of feeling down, I concluded that I had been armed with information that I could use to protect my health.

As I explain in my interview, I think of myself as Patient Zero: the first person in my family to learn they carried an inherited genetic change. My result opened up testing for all my first degree relatives—my mom, my children and my siblings—all of whom had a 50-50 chance of carrying the same BRCA2 gene mutation as I did.

The silver lining of my BRCA2 mutation is that it made my tumours more responsive to chemotherapy and opened up an additional line of treatment: a maintenance drug that is particularly suited to people with a mutation in their BRCA2 or BRCA1 genes. Because of research carried out years ago, I may have a better shot at a longer life than someone with a BRCA mutation who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a decade ago. That's why I concluded my video by imploring policymakers to not forget about ovarian cancer because research that is funded today can help prolong life tomorrow.