Rural Women NZ Raises Awareness of Five "Silent" Cancers affect only women

A RWNZ National Project to inform and educate women about five gynaecological cancers which affect only women has been hugely successful.

The Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) National Project to inform and educate women about five “silent” cancers which affect only women has been hugely successful.

"The O is for… National Project sought to raise awareness of the five gynaecological cancers and funds for three charities working to improve outcomes for women has concluded. Increasing education, funding research and promoting the development of better diagnostic tools to enable early detection of cancer were the aims of the project,” says National President Gill Naylor.

“This campaign resonated deeply with our Members, many of whom have had personal experience of these types of cancers,” says Mrs Naylor.

“Sadly, too many women in Aotearoa New Zealand have had a family member, friend or colleague receive a diagnosis - many of them too late as the signs and symptoms of these cancers are often mistaken for other conditions and they not openly discussed.”

In addition to raising women’s awareness about the gynaecological cancers at workshops and seminars throughout the country, RWNZ Members raised funds for three charities working in this area: Talk Peach, Cure Our Ovarian Cancer and K9 Medical Detection NZ.

“Fundraising events were held between March 2021 and the end of June 2022 and a total of $44,771 was raised and distributed to the charities.”

“While many events were impacted by COVID-19, we found creative and innovative work-arounds including a hugely successful online charity auction organised by our Region 6 Greater Waikato Members,” says Mrs Naylor

"Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynaecological cancer death in New Zealand yet most women are unaware of the symptoms and there is no government funding for awareness and most years none for research. The support of Rural Women NZ and their community has helped us shine a light on this overlooked cancer to educate women and fund vital research to improve ovarian cancer survival." says Jane Ludemann of Cure Our Ovarian Cancer.

“Since K9 Medical Detection NZ (K9MD) was established in 2018, Rural Women NZ and K9MD have shared many common goals. At the forefront has been the health and wellbeing of New Zealand women. Rural Women’s campaign to raise funds and awareness of Ovarian cancer has supported K9MD as we prepare to commence our research to create a simple diagnostic urine test for the early detection of Ovarian cancer. We are extremely grateful for the support from Rural Women NZ as ‘Together, we can make a difference.’” says Pauline Blomfield, Founder and CEO of K9 Medical Detection NZ (K9MD).