Titled “22 Countries, 2,446 Stories”, the episode explores the findings from the landmark Every Woman Study LMIC published today in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health
Listen to discover how high quality data is transforming ovarian cancer care in LMICs
TORONTO – December 11, 2025 – The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition today releases a powerful new episode of its podcast series “Changing the Ovarian Cancer Story”, hosted by Hannah Vaughan Jones, exploring the results of the landmark Every Woman Study™: Low- and Middle-Income Edition (EWS-LMIC). The study, released today, is a joint initiative of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition (the Coalition) and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS). A total of 2,446 women from 82 countries in 22 low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) participated in the study – providing the first comprehensive picture of the lived experiences of women with ovarian cancer. A paper based on the results of the study is published today in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health. You can find that here and the Global Report of the study here.
The podcast episode brings together Study Lead, Frances Reid, the Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health, Sonia Muliyil and Dr. Aisha Mustapha, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Clinical Lead for the study in Nigeria.
Frances Reid explained this study was really needed to quantify what women were actually experiencing. She dives into some of the key findings:
“Knowledge of ovarian cancer as a disease, of the symptoms of the disease is very low. Just one in four women in the LMIC edition had heard of ovarian cancer and knew something about it. The financial impact…just under a half of women say their family finances had been affected to a very great extent. And a third of these nearly two and half thousand women, say their family finances are now such that they don’t cover their basic costs as a direct result of their diagnosis and their treatment.”
Sonia Muliyil highlighted why publishing this study was critical for the field:
“I think it’s so important to capture the lived experiences, patient experiences, and this particular study is just amazing in terms of the breadth and scope of data collected from 22 LMICs and almost two and a half thousand women…I think that rich data set has so much to offer in terms of changing policies, in terms of changing guidelines and practice.”
The EWS LMIC reveals that in Nigeria, awareness of ovarian cancer is significantly lower than the global average, with nearly 39% of Nigerian women having never heard of the disease. Dr. Aisha Mustapha, was a Clinical Lead for the study in her country.
“This study is a call to action, to make sure that we also talk about ovarian cancer and make people aware…make them understand the symptomatology and make them know that when the symptoms happen, it could be ovarian cancer.”
Thanks to the findings of the EWS-LMIC in Nigeria, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition and the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment in Nigeria (NICRAT) launched an initiative to boost awareness, early detection and access to lifesaving ovarian cancer care in the country. Dr. Aisha Mustapha highlighted the importance of data leading to action and positive change.
“I was so pleased with the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition because they didn’t just do the study, have the data and leave. They ensured they stayed behind, interacted, reached out to relevant stakeholders in Nigeria, formed coalitions, formed collaborations and partnerships to see how we can use these results to actually better the ovarian cancer landscape in Nigeria. This collaborative research has yielded the most positive progress moving forward…and I am very optimistic that this pilot will actually change the ovarian cancer landscape in the country.”
The Coalition believes this pilot project in Nigeria is not only a vital step forward for women in that country but also holds tremendous global potential. By strengthening prevention, early diagnosis, and care, this initiative can serve as a template for future projects worldwide, helping to transform outcomes for women everywhere.
You can read more about the Nigeria project here.
Changing the Ovarian Cancer Story is available on all major podcast platforms. You can also watch all our episodes so far here.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Annabel Deegan – media@worldovariancancercoalition.org
About the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition
The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, the only global not-for-profit organization focused solely on ovarian cancer, was established in 2016 and comprises over 230 patient advocacy group members in 69 countries. We work globally to ensure that everyone living with, or at risk of, ovarian cancer has the best chance of survival and the best quality of life, no matter where they live through partnerships, evidence, advocacy and awareness. To learn more, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.