My name is Asha Spitzer and I am sixteen years old.
I am a dedicated year-round swimmer for Orinda Aquatics and a junior coach for Sleepy Hollow Swim Club.
Starting two years ago, I decided I wanted to use my swimming to impact the lives of others. This idea began as “Asha’s Swim for Hope” in 2022, and this will be the third year continuing this mission.
This September I will be swimming the Golden Gate Bridge swim. This is an early morning, open water, one-and-a-half-mile swim through the San Francisco Bay. This endeavor was inspired by many brave people in my life who have been impacted by cancer.
The goal of this swim is to both fundraise and raise awareness for ovarian cancer. For this swim, I would like to raise $1000 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. OCRA works to cure ovarian cancer, advocate for patients, and support survivors.
Additionally, awareness is especially important for ovarian cancer because early detection can save lives.
Ovarian cancer attacks the ovaries but can often go undetected because of its subtle symptoms and a lack of a specific screening method. I want to spread recognition of ovarian cancer so we can help women take preventative measures against higher stages of the disease. This year alone, 19,710 in the United States will receive a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. About two-thirds of them will not receive adequate care.
Together, we can work to bring these numbers down.
Please donate to help impact the lives of women everywhere.
Additionally, I wanted to highlight a new nonprofit, the Ovarian Cancer Equity Mission. This emerging nonprofit is working towards “...increasing awareness and funding for ovarian cancer research, accelerating the development of alternative therapies due to the disease's resistance to standard treatments, and providing access to care for under-resourced communities.” This charity is important to me because the creators are dedicated to creating equitable care for women of all different communities. If you are interested in checking out their website follow this link: https://www.ovariancancerequity.org/
Common Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer:
Bloating
Pelvic or abdominal (belly) pain
Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
Urinary symptoms (such as urgency or frequency)
Risk factors include a family history of ovarian, breast, or colorectal cancer or a family history of carrying the BRCA gene mutation.
For further information reference
American Cancer Society: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/ovarian-cancer/about.html
Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance:
https://ocrahope.org/
guidestar.org/profile/13-3806788
charitynavigator.org/ein/133806788