In May, supporters gathered at our Donor Appreciation High Tea to hear from Dr Kristen Moloney, Gynaecologist and Gynaecologic Oncologist at The Wesley, on the future of gynaecologic cancer care.

Dr Moloney’s message to guests was simple: “It’s not about new treatments,” she said. “It’s about better treatments.”

For women with early-stage cervical cancer, a major international trial of over 3,000 women found that a simpler, less invasive hysterectomy was almost exactly as effective at keeping women cancer free as the traditional, more radical operation — 97.5 per cent compared to 95.6 per cent.

But the simpler surgery led to far fewer bladder problems afterwards, with urinary complications roughly half as common.

For endometrial cancer, Dr Moloney shared how a special dye and advanced robotic equipment enabled surgeons to identify and test only the first lymph nodes a cancer would spread to, rather than removing many nodes “just in case.”

That means fewer complications and a faster recovery for patients.

For ovarian cancer, she shared findings from a global trial comparing two treatment orders — surgery first, or chemotherapy first — for women with advanced disease. Survival rates were the same either way, but starting with chemotherapy often meant less extensive surgery and fewer complications for the women involved.

It’s your support that allows care like this to reach the women who need it most.