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Pink Meets Teal is with Anne Kempton and 2 others.

1 day ago

Jill, our fearless warrior created a now unstoppable social movement..#PinkMeetsTeal raising awareness to make sure that ovarian cancer receives fair funding.

While still recovering from the gruelling rounds of treatment, Jill started shaking the tree in earnest: fund raising, awareness raising and advocacy.

Jill was breathtakingly tireless in her awareness raising activities. Her energy was endless.

All requests were meet with enthusiasm and she took every opportunity to talk about the hideous impact of ovarian cancer.

Jill then went political.

She spoke passionately and candidly on a few occasions to our Federal politicians:

At the National Press Club, meeting Health Minister Greg Hunt MP and our Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) and at the Teal Ribbon breakfast.

We all stood and watched in awe at Jill’s unstoppable energy.

It was the inequity of the McGrath Foundation receiving $27m for breast care nurses in January 2019 that galvanised Jill into PINKMEETSTEAL. We needed big sums of money like this, not just little bits, and needed it in research.

Jill was angry, focussed and determined.

And SO the Peekmeetsteal team commenced.

Initially 4 of we women sat around Jill’s dining room table and developed an action plan: Building a social movement for women by women.

Our goal is for a community of women working collaboratively to contribute to increasing the survival rate to 91%, similar to Breast cancer survival rates

Our values are being inclusive, collaborative: cooperative; and non competitive.

We wanted to be clear we were not competing with women with Breast cancer.

PMT wasn’t about being a support group.

It was about fighting the good fight for fair funding ... fighting for the 1000 women who die every year in Australia.

PMT was launch on World Ovarian Cancer Day 8th May 2019 - thirty women gathered on Hunter Street in the stylish pink and teal dresses to highlight this disparity in funding.

We 30 women marched with cry “what do we want..funding fairness’ ‘when do we want it ..now’ ..which was echoed around Hunter st

The campaign resulted in greater publicity and coverage than could possibly ever have been achieved for ovarian cancer on its own – thanks to Jill.

Jill was enthusiastically involved in many of the local funding raising events which has resulted $110k being raised for Dr Nikola Bowden, a local lead researcher, at Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) improving the treatment options.
Nikola has made extraordinary gains in her research and formed a close friendship with Jill.

In Oct 2019 PMT started the funding fairness for ovarian cancer petition with change.org. we now have 48.5k signatures. Lets make that 50,000 by the end of January – sign and share
www.change.org/pinkmeetsteal

In November 2019 Minister Hunt announced $20 million for research with a focus on early detection and improved treatments.

This is being allocated as $4m every year for 5 years This is not OK and will not achieve the outcomes need for the 1000 women dying every year in Australia.

The Tuesday prior to Jill dying she sent a letter to Minister Hunt requesting an annual allocation of $20m.
This needs to be taken seriously – I believe that in order to truly make a difference and to take Ovarian cancer research seriously this amount needs to be an annual allocation of $50m

So where to from here for PMT ?

At our last PMT meeting, Jill decided that PMT would continue to be a thorn in the governments side saying
Prime Minister, Minister, What would Jill say? What would the 1000 women dying of OC say?
PMT will continue to fight the fight for Jill: calling out funding inconsistencies, and holding our government to account - making sure so that the funds re one-offs..or diverted in 6 months time

Jill has done more than anyone to lift awareness of what is the deadliest of all women's cancers.

Jill has changed the game…with lasting impact. How extraordinary. She achieved so much in such a short time

Our love to your dear friend, we will cherish you in our hearts and are proud to walk alongside you in making such a historical change for Australian women.

- Speech by Anne Kempton at Jill’s public memorial hosted by City of Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes - Lord Mayor of Newcastle

PICTURED: Pink Meets Teal team with Jill’s mum Liz at a meeting at Jill’s house.

From right to left: Jill’s mum Liz, Jess Jones, Anne Kempton, Jill Emberson, Ann Caddey, Shauna Stafford ...

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