Narrogin women host ‘mystery’ ovarian cancer fundraiser to raise awareness about the disease in the community

A group of like-minded women have banded together to host an ovarian cancer fundraiser set to take guests on a mystery bus tour. February is ovarian cancer awareness month which Gloria Radford thought was the perfect opportunity to host a “Taste of Teal Mystery Night” to raise funds for cancer research. The event will take participants on a mystery bus tour around town, stopping off at secret locations to enjoy a sundowner, three-course meal, cocktail bar and entertainment. Guest speakers who have battled ovarian cancer will share their stories. Ms Radford said the organisers felt strongly about raising funds for cancer research after they lost family members to the disease. “One of them has lost her mother to ovarian cancer and another one has lost her husband through cancer, so she is passionate about cancer research,” she said. “We had a family member who had a close call with ovarian cancer. “She was nearly diagnosed with ovarian cancer and we were very lucky it wasn’t but she took quite a long time to recover and we were very lucky.” In 2021, ovarian cancer was the ninth-most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, with an estimated 1720 new cases according to Cancer Australia. Australian women have a 1 in 87 risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer by the age of 85. “I’m a nurse with over 35 years of experience and I knew very little about ovarian cancer,” Ms Radford said. “So I thought ‘if I don’t know much about it and I’m in the medical field there must be lots of other people who also don’t know much about it’. “I then decided to link up with the two other women who had different experiences with cancer, we just started talking and said let’s get the ball rolling.” Ms Radford believed the fundraiser would be the first to be held for ovarian cancer in Narrogin. “We felt like you hear about breast cancer because we have a big high tea event in Narrogin, which is huge and they get their message out there,” she said. “But not many people hear about ovarian cancer. The mystery night was mainly just to start the conversation.” The event will start at 5.30pm at the Narrogin Regional Leisure Centre on February 26. For tickets, visit “Taste of Teal Mystery Night” on Eventbrite.