Ovarian Cancer is something that my family had honestly never thought about before 2018. The summer of 2018 our mother, Anna Bradburn, was diagnosed with this terrible disease. Though she fought hard and with everything she had she sadly passed away one very short year after being diagnosed. I have to come to learn that there is no early detection for this cancer and often, by the time it is diagnosed the disease has often progressed too far for treatments to be effective. 

We will be walking on Sunday September 10 in her memory. To honour her life and all that she meant to my family and so many others. I refuse to let her memory fade and this annual walk reminds many of us of her spirit and legacy. I would also like to encourage and generate funds for this often overlooked women's cancer so that we can find a cure and explore early detection methods. I asked mom the day before she passed how she would like us to honour her and she said to continue supporting Ovarian Cancer Canada so that other women who come after her may have a better chance to survive this disease. Even at the very end she thought of others. 

Our family has lost our mother, wife, grandma, auntie & daughter and sometimes it is incomprehensible that she is no longer living with us. We have struggled through the grief (and still do), muddled our way through what life looks like without her and keep her memory alive everyday. I believe she is with us, in one way or another. 

Today, thousands of Canadian women are living with ovarian cancer and another 3,000 will be diagnosed this year. This past year alone I have attended 2 more funerals for women who have lost their battle with this disease and have learned of another person who has been diagnosed. 

Each of these women is central to a family. Every one of these women has people who love her. Just being there to support and honour her means everything. That’s why I’m participating with thousands of others at the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope.

The Walk celebrates the hope I carry with me every day – the hope for a future without this disease.

Every dollar I raise supports Ovarian Cancer Canada, the only national charity that champions the health and well-being of women with ovarian cancer and others at risk of this disease. Funds will be used to fund vital research, spur advocacy efforts, and provide support so that we can help women with, or at risk of, ovarian cancer live fuller, better, longer lives.

Please provide your support by giving generously. Better yet, if you are up for a challenge this September, come out and join me on Sunday September 10th!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

Kimberly Ouellette (and family) & Bobby Bradburn (and family)