Building on Momentum: Our First Year of Impact

Not These Ovaries 2025 Impact Report

A Message from Our Founder

As I reflect on our first year at Not These Ovaries, I’m blown away by what we’ve built together. When I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 33, the journey revealed an urgent gap: the rarest forms of ovarian cancer — the ones hitting younger women — had extremely limited research funding and insufficient treatment options. These include low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) and borderline ovarian tumors (BOT), which disproportionately affect women under 40.

We started this organization to focus on two strategic challenges: first, to create informative content that is medically accurate to inform patients, caregivers, and physicians; second, to address the dearth in funding research and fundraise to help fill those gaps.

Today, just over one year since formal IRS approval and the launch of our website, we’ve raised over $250,000 from incredible supporters like you. But more than the numbers, what strikes me most is the momentum we’ve created.

From launching our website and publishing over 100 educational articles to hosting sold-out fundraising events and forging important partnerships, we’ve transformed awareness into action at unprecedented speed.

We have made so much progress on our strategic objectives, but we have a lot more to accomplish.

The sobering reality remains: projections show ovarian cancer will claim 8 million lives by 2050 unless we find a cure. But your support proves that when we combine urgency with strategy, remarkable things happen. Every dollar you’ve contributed goes directly to science — no administrative overhead, no delays. Just immediate impact.

Thank you for believing in our mission and proving that together, we can change the trajectory of rare ovarian cancers.

With determination and hope,

Emily Campbell

Founder & Executive Director

Learn about our impact.

Year One done. We're just getting started.

Over $250K raised.

We’ve raised over $250,000 from individual donor contributions, helping drive research funding and commitments across three major projects.

Learn About Our Projects

Partnerships with 3 major research institutions. And 1 dedicated research fellow funded.

We have partnered with three major research institutions: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Additionally, we have funded the position of Research Fellow in Gynecologic Oncology, Dr. Vivek Podder, at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Fund Research and Trials

Events and partnerships spanning over 5 cities.

We organized and got involved in events and partnerships in Miami, New York, Amsterdam, Seattle, and Washington, D.C..

Partner with Us

100+ articles. Over 213,998+ words (and counting).

We have published over 100 medically reviewed educational articles totaling 213,998 words of website content to create the most comprehensive online resource for LGSOC (low-grade serous ovarian cancer) and borderline ovarian tumors, generating over 40,000 page views since our website launch in June 2024, with traffic growing by over 50% every 90 days. Helping us reach and inform more patients, care givers and doctors.

Read Our Blog

Hope (AI) for all.

Taking advantage of new technologies, we launched Hope, our AI chat which is providing patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare providers with 24/7 access to accurate and reliable ovarian cancer information in a confidential, judgment-free space.

Hope was trained by reading our articles along with peer reviewed medical research papers, making it one of the most comprehensive sources for accurate information.

Ask Hope to Get Answers

Research We're Funding: Turning Dollars into Discovery

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Novel Research in Borderline and Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Led by Dr. Ursula Matulonis, Chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, this project addresses the critical knowledge gap in borderline ovarian tumors and low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC).

The Challenge: Treatment options for borderline ovarian tumors and LGSOC are extremely limited, and progression is difficult to predict and treat. There's a lack of scientific data to provide surveillance guidelines and understand genetic changes between borderline and low-grade serous cancers.

The Solution: Launch an innovative research project to enhance understanding of disease spectrum, introduce improved surveillance strategies to identify at-risk patients earlier, and expand treatment options.

The Impact: This groundbreaking initiative became the catalyst for founding Not These Ovaries, demonstrating how urgent medical needs can transform into organized action and improved quality of life for patients.

Mount Sinai Medical Center: $100,000

Gynecologic Oncology Research Supervisor Program

In partnership with Dr. Brian Slomovitz, the Director of Gynecologic Oncology and Co-Chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center, we've established a dedicated position with Dr. Vivek Podder as the Research Fellow in Gynecologic Oncology.

The Challenge: LGSOC and borderline tumor research lacked formalized investigation programs and coordinated clinical trial tracking, limiting patient access to cutting-edge treatments.

The Solution: Establish a dedicated research supervisor position to formalize LGSOC and borderline tumor investigations, oversee active clinical trials, and create new patient participation pathways.

The Impact: Dr. Podder has successfully joined the International Consortium for Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (ICLC), developed streamlined patient trial participation processes, and is now supporting innovative treatment approaches specifically designed for LGSOC patients.

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas

MD Anderson Cancer Center, in partnership with STAAR: $115,580

Cutting-Edge RNA Sequencing for Personalized LGSOC Treatment

In collaboration with STAAR Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Foundation, we're funding Dr. Kwong-Kwok Wong's research using advanced long-read RNA sequencing to identify biomarkers that predict treatment responses.

The Challenge: Only 20% of LGSOC patients respond to standard chemotherapy used for other ovarian cancers.

The Solution: Analyzing RNA samples from patients who have — or haven't — responded to chemotherapy and hormone therapy to uncover molecular patterns that distinguish responders from non-responders.

The Impact: This research could establish clinical tools helping oncologists make personalized treatment decisions, meaning fewer ineffective interventions and better outcomes.

Events that Drove Change

Charity Dinner at Nikai, Harbour Club (February 2025)

Not These Ovaries hosted its first charity dinner last February 2025, bringing together supporters and community members for an intimate evening at Nikai within Miami Beach’s exclusive Harbour Club.

Results:

50 attendees in an intimate, sold-out event

$7,500 raised supporting one month of critical research at Mount Sinai

$2,500 additional donations from attendees beyond ticket sales

Sponsors included: Bacardi, Grey Goose, HeavenSake, Kingston Family Vineyards

Give Miami Day (November 2024)

The Miami Foundation‘s Give Miami Day demonstrated how community support can multiply impact.

Our participation in Miami's annual giving event raised $9,520, demonstrating strong local community support for our mission and directly supporting our Mount Sinai research in 2025.

Amsterdam Wine Tasting (April 2025)

Led by board member Alex Kroeger in collaboration with De Vino Root Wine Events and Clapham Specialty Coffee, this sold-out event featuring women-owned wineries raised $2,192 for critical ovarian cancer research.

Guests also sampled eight premium wines not available in stores while learning about our mission to fund research for ovarian cancer subtypes that currently have limited treatment options.

Influencer Yoga Event with Real Essentials (September to October 2024)

Our partnership with Real Essentials demonstrated how corporate collaboration can drive meaningful impact.

After hosting an influencer yoga event in New York, the clothing brand donated to Not These Ovaries $1 for every package sold of their most popular yoga and exercise wear items during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, raising $2,340 for ovarian cancer research.

Strategic Partnerships: Amplifying Our Impact

STAAR Foundation

Our first-ever joint research funding initiative with our key partner — the only other U.S.-based LGSOC nonprofit — demonstrates the transformative power of collaboration in rare disease research, resulting in the groundbreaking $115,580 MD Anderson project.

This historic partnership between the two organizations dedicated to advancing LGSOC research marks what we hope will be the first of many collaborations with this organization as we work together to accelerate progress for patients.

Verastem Oncology

Our collaboration with this biopharmaceutical company has produced critical educational content about LGSOC, breaking down complex research into clear, actionable information for patients and families.

Through their sponsorship, we've created comprehensive resources covering LGSOC diagnosis, treatment challenges for young women, and coping strategies for this rare cancer subtype. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to putting research first and empowering patients with knowledge that matters most.

La Cometa Gallery

Miami's art and philanthropy worlds converged at this exclusive, invitation-only event where each guest brought along a woman they admire. The afternoon featured conversations on thriving as women creatives in Miami, with the silent auction benefiting our research initiatives.

This inaugural collaboration marks the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing partnership, bringing together Miami's creative community to support rare cancer research through future events and initiatives.

KYU Restaurants

Miami's innovative "New 2 KYU" cocktail campaign created a direct line from dining to funding critical research, demonstrating creative partnership possibilities.

Loft Projects NY

The holiday exhibition curated by founder Leslie Weissman featured 17 female artists donating proceeds of artwork sales to support our research.

Patient Stories that Drive Our Mission

blog hero Navigating the Borderline One Woman

Abbey Dufoe's Borderline Journey

At 26, Abbey faced a rare diagnosis: borderline ovarian tumors.

Her story illuminates the challenges of living with an often misunderstood condition, highlighting the emotional toll of living "scan to scan" and feeling caught between the worlds of cancer and health.

Read Abbey's Story

Emily Campbell's Founding Story

Our founder's journey from diagnosis at 33 to creating a national nonprofit demonstrates how personal experience can transform into systematic change. Featured in major media outlets, Emily's story puts a human face on the urgent need for ovarian cancer research funding.

Read Emily's Story

Community Voices: Our Champions

“We plan to be a supporter of Not These Ovaries on every level possible. We firmly believe that Emily and Chris Campbell are going to accomplish miracles. They both have the rare ability to face challenges and turn them into happy solutions.” Lois Whitman-Hess and Eliot Hess

“We support Not These Ovaries because our donation is going directly towards life-saving research. Ovarian cancer is one of the most underfunded and under-researched forms of cancer and it shouldn't be that way. Not These Ovaries is breaking down barriers when it comes to ovarian cancer research and we couldn't be happier to support them.” Francesca and David Nabors

“We've always believed that nobody should feel alone, especially when confronted with the unthinkable. Emily and Chris's mission helps take on just that for those diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Helping fund valuable research and connecting newly diagnosed patients with the help they need at a time when it's most critical is worth every penny.” Jesse Hinchcliffe and Ryan Daliege

Will You Join Our Champions?

Will you join Lois, Eliot, Francesca, David, Jesse and Ryan?

Make Your Donation

How Your Support Makes a Difference

100% Direct Impact Model. Every donation goes directly to research. Our operational costs are covered by our generous Patron Fund, ensuring your contribution creates immediate scientific impact.

Multiple Ways to Give. Direct donations to ongoing research projects. Corporate partnerships creating sustainable funding streams. Event participation combining community with fundraising. Spreading awareness through social media and personal networks.

Transparency Commitment. We provide regular updates on research progress, financial allocation, and measurable outcomes. When you support Not These Ovaries, you know exactly where your money goes and what it accomplishes.

Donate To Support Critical Research

Join Our Mission

The fight against rare ovarian cancers requires urgent action, and your support transforms that urgency into life-saving research. Whether through donations, partnerships, or simply sharing our story, you're helping ensure that no woman faces LGSOC or borderline ovarian tumors without hope.

By 2050, ovarian cancer could claim 8 million lives. But together, we're changing that trajectory — one research grant, one educational resource, one advocacy meeting at a time.

Ready to make a difference? Visit nottheseovaries.org to learn more about supporting our mission.

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