She was a wife, mother of three, sister and worked as a nurse at the Queensway Carleton Hospital.
Karen Burns was 44 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about four years ago. She passed away from the disease in January.
Yesterday, a group comprised of Burns’ family, friends and colleagues participated in the Winners Walk of Hope to benefit Ovarian Cancer Canada.
“We’re hoping to raise awareness for ovarian cancer and the treatments that are available … as well as money for research,” said Burns’ sister, Stittsville resident Shirley Bishop. “But it’s also a chance for all of us to get together.”
One of the goals of the walk was to spread the word about ovarian cancer and get women out to get their testing done sooner, said walk co-chair Ryan Kelahear.
“The hard part is, the majority of cases — over 90 per cent — are detected in the third and fourth stages, and the survival rate at that stage is 20 per cent chance of surviving up to three years,” said walk co-chair Kerry Stewart. “Fundraising is important, but awareness is everything. The more people we can get being diagnosed early, the more people are going to survive and the better the prognosis is for everybody.”
