After receiving a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Ann Squires Ferguson launched a fundraiser to help fund research into the disease.
Squires Ferguson says she was shocked when she received her diagnosis.
“At the end of January I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and it rocked the foundation of my world and I felt completely disconnected from my life,” Squires Ferguson said. “In order to reconnect I wanted it to mean something I wanted there to be a purpose to all of this.”
With the initial goal of raising $10,000 for Ovarian Cancer Canada, Squires Ferguson planned a head-shaving fundraiser she called “A Breath of Fresh Hair.”
The fundraiser quickly surpassed the initial goal, so she raised the goal to $20,000.
“We’ve raised $22,000 for Ovarian Cancer Canada for early detection,” she said. “Ovarian cancer has a 50 per cent survival rate and it is not talked about very much so the goal here is to change those odds – to support early detection and fund research into a cure.”
Squires Ferguson says she is lucky since the tumour was able to successfully be removed with surgery and she has a strong chance of remission if chemotherapy is effective.
“This [funrdraiser] is an opportunity to really draw attention to cancers and the plight of women in general. 3,100 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Canada every year and half of those women won’t survive past the five year mark,” Squires Ferguson said. “It’s not about me. It’s about people coming together and changing the narrative for other women. The funds that are raised today are going to save someone else’s life.”
You can find Squires Ferguson’s fundraiser on the Ovarian Cancer Canada website here.
Laura Brougham
