Ovarian Cancer Awareness – Funding Is Crucial To Increasing Survival

Dr. Shannon Westin, MD, MPH, FACOG, gynecologic oncology physician at Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital and a Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston discusses low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) which impacts younger women compared to other forms of ovarian cancer and how she is working to raise awareness amongst the medical community about this rare cancer by encouraging peers to educate their patients on the signs and symptoms as well as paying close attention to the patients that may be displaying said signs. There are no screening tests or prevention methods and there is minimal funding and effective treatment options. To check your symptoms online, visit https://www.staaroc.org/symptoms.html

Shannon Westin, MD, MPH, FACOG, is a board-certified obstetrics and gynecology and gynecologic oncology physician at Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital and a Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Westin serves in multiple leadership roles at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center including Director of Early Drug Development, Co-Director of the Ovarian Cancer Moonshot Program, Rotation Director of the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program, Co-Chair of the Executive Scientific Review Committee, and Co-Chair of the Scientific Review Committee 1. Outside of her institutional leadership, she serves as Co-Chair of the Ovarian Task Force at the National Institutes of Health, Vice President of the Houston Gynecology and Obstetrics Society, Grant Reviewer of the Ovarian Cancer Research Program at the US Department of Defense, and multiple roles within the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr Westin is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the GOG Foundation.

She is the recipient of multiple awards including recently the Excellence in Teaching Award given by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2017), the Scholar Investigator Award given by GOG Foundation (2019), the Ovarian Cancer Hero Award given by Cure Magazine (2019), and the Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research Prize given by Foundation for Women’s Cancer/Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation (2020).