We were lucky to catch up with Emily Campbell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Yes, there was; and this moment completely changed my career path and led me to launching my nonprofit, Not These Ovaries. Back in December of 2023, I started to feel these GI-like symptoms. (Know these common signs ladies! Persistent and extreme bloating, pelvic and back pain, feeling extremely full after only a few bites of food, and irregular periods.) Over the course of several weeks, I visited multiple doctors, where I was continuously dismissed. I was told nothing was wrong, or that it was probably stress, or maybe even a food allergy. After consistent progression of my symptoms, I took myself to the ER, where I was immediately admitted to the hospital. Eight days of tests later, I finally received an answer: a diagnosis of stage III borderline serous ovarian cancer. It had spread throughout my entire reproductive system and into my abdomen.

What struck me during the months immediately following my diagnosis, was how slow the process was for meeting with specialists; how many gaps there were in the understanding of this disease; the lack of research; the lack of education. But most striking, the lack of funding.

So my thought process navigating doctor’s appointments shifted from “How do I get through this?” to “How can we change the system so this doesn’t happen to someone else—or so someone else doesn’t feel like they are so alone?” So I started to ask: Why are the treatments so limited? Why is a diagnosis so commonly delayed? Why is everything so fragmented? And how can we build something focused on real, direct research that can produce better outcomes?

And I knew what I wanted as a core value: 100 percent of donations to go directly to patient advocacy and research to eradicate ovarian cancer, especially the rarer subtypes that disproportionally affect younger women.

This defining moment in my career was the impetus for Not These Ovaries. It grew organically from the necessity of advocacy. I wanted to build something that changed women’s lives for the better.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’d love to share! Not These Ovaries is an ovarian cancer nonprofit dedicated to improving patient outcomes through advocacy, education, and research funding. Our organization empowers patients and caregivers with a doctor-reviewed online library of articles and supports research aimed at advancing treatment for ovarian cancer, with a focus on understudied areas such as low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSOC) and borderline ovarian tumors (BOT). We focus on two strategic challenges: first, to create informative content that is medically accurate to educate patients, caregivers, and physicians; and second, to address the dearth in research funding and to fundraise to help fill those gaps.

We’re just under two years since the launch of our website, and we’ve since raised over $250,000 from incredible supporters! Outside of the funding, what excites me most is the momentum we’ve created. From launching our website and publishing hundreds of doctor-reviewed educational articles, to hosting sold-out fundraising events and forging important partnerships, we’re pushing awareness into action.

It was created because I believe, deeply, that we all deserve better.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My business partner is my husband! We actually met years ago, when he was raising his first round of venture capital for his software company. At the time, I worked at a startup accelerator looking to invest in promising companies. We crossed paths at a business lunch in Wisconsin. And yes, we did invest in his startup.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I’ve been lucky enough to have several different jobs across a variety of career paths. I feel that I am exactly where I need to be right now, helping women.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nottheseovaries.org/
• Instagram: @nottheseovaries
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-campbell-64b033299/

Image Credits

Jordan Frey, headshot