Annie Ellis was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2004 and is currently enjoying an unexpected 10-year remission after two recurrences, five lines of treatment, three debulking surgeries (the last was a partial liver resection) and a phase I remission vaccine clinical trial. In 2010 Annie was diagnosed with stage 1 IDC breast cancer and was treated off-protocol. No genetic mutations have been identified through BRCA and BROCA panel testing.

Dorinda (Dee) Sparacio worked as a chemical engineer and computer science teacher prior to her ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2005. She was encouraged by her gynecologic oncologist to become an ovarian cancer research advocate. Since 2007 she has shared her story and information about OC and cancer research on her blog, Women Of Teal and on Twitter (@womenofteal).

Teri Woodhull was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2010.  She has a long family history of breast cancer including her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Teri underwent a prophylactic mastectomy in 1993 because of her high risk.  Unfortunately, what she and her doctors didn’t realize as the research on hereditary cancers evolved was that an inherited BRCA gene mutation also put her at high risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Diagnosed with stage IIIC ovarian cancer in July 1997, Susan Leighton vowing that no woman would travel the road alone co-founded the “Lilies of the Valley,” an ovarian cancer support and awareness group in the Tennessee Valley.  Susan serves as the National Program Director of Survivors Teaching Students®, a program of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance (OCRFA).

Kristinna Abalos is writer, English teacher, blogger, and a stage IV ovarian cancer survivor. During an emergency c-section with her only child in October 2016, Kristinna was diagnosed with stage IV clear cell ovarian cancer.

Don Dizon is the Head of Women’s Cancers at Lifespan Cancer Institute, Director of Medical Oncology at Rhode Island Hospital, and Associate Professor of Medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI (USA).