I work for the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition and we are a network of 135 patient advocacy organisations from around the world, so 44 countries as it currently stands. We’ve just completed what we believe to be the world’s largest study of its kind in relation to a global survey of ovarian cancer patient experience. So we have responses from over 1,500 women from 44 countries to our survey. There are a wealth of findings, right from awareness of ovarian cancer pre-diagnosis through to delays in access to treatment.

But today, in terms of these amazing and exciting results, the key things that strike me from thinking about the patient perspective is the absolute urgency and need to ensure that women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer have access to genetic testing, that they aware of the significance of family history, the importance of pre-diagnosis testing where there is a strong family history and the urgency for access to genetic testing when they are diagnosed and it is known.

Our study found huge variations. For example, in Japan the average of pre- and post-testing was under 10%; in the US I believe it’s above 80% and everything in between. So that’s a real take away message. Then secondly, access to specialists and specialist treatment and drugs that are available and are coming on to the scene, again the study found wide variation globally. But the one common result from all of the work that we did, from all of the women that responded was really the need to do better for ovarian cancer patients to ensure that these important breakthroughs are moved through quickly and that they have access quickly and that the infrastructures and healthcare systems are really there to ensure that these women are able to access these important developments. Thank you.