Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA)

Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) was created as Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance (OCRFA) in January, 2016, when Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) and Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA) combined forces into one full-spectrum organization for research, funding, advocacy, and patient support.

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) grew out of Ann Schreiber’s personal experience with ovarian cancer, as she envisioned a world free of this devastating disease. Determined to make a difference, her husband, Sol, asked her physician, Dr. Carmel Cohen, about supporting ovarian cancer research at Mt. Sinai Hospital (where Ann was being treated). Dr. Cohen urged Sol to “think bigger” and fund research beyond Mt. Sinai as a faster route to ending the disease. In 1994, this vision was realized in OCRF, as a national organization to combat not only the disease, but also the isolation and fear ovarian cancer patients and their families so often feel. A few years later, Liz Tilberis, then editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, joined OCRF while battling ovarian cancer, and stepped up to serve as OCRF’s first president, propelling the organization to a national platform.

In 1997, the leaders of five ovarian cancer organizations formed Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA) to serve women with ovarian cancer by providing support, resources and education. These groups were: CONVERSATIONS! The International Newsletter for Those Fighting Ovarian Cancer (Texas); National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (Florida); Ovar’coming (Indiana); Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Greater Washington (Washington, D.C.); and SHARE: Self-Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer (New York). OCNA became the leading ovarian cancer advocacy organization for federal research funding and related patient advocacy issues.