Queen of Hearts Foundation

The UC Irvine Ovarian Cancer Center for Excellence in partnership with the Queen of Hearts Foundation is our 2011-2015 strategic project:

As the UCI and Queen of Hearts Foundation partnership and fundraising flourishes, the goal is to implement:   patient care through Ann’s Clinic for Ovarian Cancer Screening, education and awareness through symposiums and fellowships, and research opportunities through the Queen of Hearts Research Laboratory that opened in July 2010 at UC Irvine’s Sprague Hall.

UCI’s overall concept for Ann’s Clinic:

If we were to begin operating Ann’s Clinic today we would set up the clinic in a temporary facility in the UCI Cancer Center.  However, the long term plan is to locate the proposed Ann’s Clinic in Pavilion 1.  We have already secured a suite in the pavilion and have a commitment from the medical center to provide $250,000 for renovations.

Our vision is that Ann’s Clinic would be open one day a week.  The clinic would have permanent signage and information to ensure that visitors to the suite are made aware of the clinic even on the days it is not open.  Materials and information would be developed with the messaging of the overall cancer campaign so that patients and families would see the important role the clinic plays in both the fight against cancer and in the mission of the Cancer Center.

Our hope is that patients, their families, and visitors, come to the clinic and leave with two important messages: One, that UC Irvine is a leader in the fight against ovarian cancer; and two, that the generosity and foresight of the Queen of Hearts Foundation is a key part of that leadership.

Below is a list of some of the funding opportunities, in no specific order:

• 3-D ultrasound machine
• Geneticist
• High Risk Registry
• Robotics – assisted risk-reducing for surgery
• HIPEC Machine
• Subzero refrigerator for tissue bank with staffing
• p/t bio-statistician
• International and local fellows

• Patient Care materials for Ann’s Clinic patients:  ‘how to survive a diagnosis of ovarian cancer”
• Community Outreach and education

We funded our first annual Queen of Hearts Research Grant at our March 19th, 2011  fundraising event which will be awarded next year to a UCI fellow or faculty member with a meritorious ovarian cancer research proposal.

We Are Making a Difference

For two years, the Queen of Hearts Foundation donated all proceeds to a 2 year collaborative research project with Northwestern University in Chicago and Illinois, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The research consisted of the study of a family of lysophospholipids, which are believed to be helpful in early detection of Ovarian Cancer and for clinical use. The cost of this study was $400,000 and Queen of Hearts Foundation supported the project with $200,000.

In 2003, we committed to support and partner with the UC Irvine Medical Center/ Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. UC Irvine is one of 39 comprehensive cancer centers in the USA. Our total donations to date have been $410,000: a project managed by Dr. Robert Burger on an early detection study of ovarian cancer; a long-term study developed by Dr. Wendy Brewster, and most recently, we celebrated the grand opening of the Queen of Hearts Ovarian Cancer Research Laboratory in Sprague Hall on UC Irvine’s campus. We collaborate with many efforts, symposiums and speaking engagements with the gynecologic oncologists at UC Irvine. They support us in every effort. We are excited about this opportunity to give back to our community.

Drs. Brewster and Burger Project Summaries

In July of this year, our accumulated fundraising efforts allowed us to open the Queen of Hearts Ovarian Cancer Research Laboratory in the Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Irvine. We know our fundraising and educational efforts regarding ovarian cancer are benefitting and WILL benefit the lives of many women.

Listed below are some facts regarding ovarian cancer that inspire us to fund raise for the Ovarian Cancer Clinic at UC Irvine:

• Among women in the United States, ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer, and the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths.
• Currently, there is no reliable method of early detection for ovarian cancer.
• Ovarian cancer has a 46% five-year survival rate and receives $8.8 million in research from the Department of Defense (FY08); breast cancer has a five-year survival rate of 89% and receives $122.8 million (FY08).
• Ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% of patients survive longer than 5 years.
• If detected and treated early, the five year survival rate increases to greater than 92%.

From what you have read, you will agree that we need continued research funding and educational awareness in order to find an early detection screening test.