She ROCKS leadership presented a $200,000 check to UNC Lineberger to support ovarian cancer research. She ROCKS, an organization aimed at raising awareness and attention for ovarian cancer, raised the funds during their 2019 Wilmington and Triad luncheon events.
She ROCKS has raised more than $500,000 for ovarian cancer research at UNC Lineberger since it was founded in 2014. The organization supports the research of UNC Lineberger’s Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, professor of gynecologic oncology in the UNC School of Medicine.
Bae-Jump leads a team of researchers focusing on advancing the prevention, early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer. Specifically, they are investigating approaches to detect ovarian cancer at the earliest possible stage, when the prognosis is much better.
In 2013, Beth Quinn was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. Women with ovarian cancer are typically asymptomatic until the disease is advanced and far more difficult to treat, and there are no screening tests to help in the early detection of ovarian cancer. Wanting to help other women, Quinn, along with her close friends Mary Barto and Tracy Brown, formed She ROCKS in Wilmington, NC, with the goal of raising money to support research that could lead to a screening test.
“You have really given a voice and face to ovarian cancer research in the state of North Carolina,” Bae-Jump said to the She ROCKS group at the presentation ceremony.
She ROCKS contributes 75 percent of funds raised to UNC Lineberger, and the remaining 25 percent benefit patient support programs at the Zimmer Cancer Center, in Wilmington, NC. The organization grew in 2018 with the addition of She ROCKS The Triad, allowing for funds to be designated to ovarian cancer patient support programs in the Greensboro area.
She ROCKS Triad members Marie Wood, Marsha Tice, Helen Lentz and Lisa Ganem, and Wilmington members Barto and Mike Brown attended the check presentation ceremony at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital.
During the ceremony, UNC Lineberger Director Shelton Earp, MD, underscored the importance of compassionate patient and family-centered care.