2008 OCNA award winners: Carolyn Benivegna and Karen Mason

OCNA 2008 Award Winners! CONGRATULATIONS!

Cindy Melancon Spirit of Survivorship Award

Hailing from Novi, Michigan, Carolyn Benivegna will be this year’s recipient in honor of her persistent advocacy for promoting awareness for ovarian cancer. Carolyn is an ovarian cancer survivor and the founder of the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Florida-Gulf Coast. She then moved to Michigan when she made a great impact by working with Governor Jennifer Granholm to declare September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Carolyn and her husband were also recognized by The Henry P. Tappan Society from the University of Michigan for establishing an endowed Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at UM.



The Voice for Ovarian Cancer Research Award

Taking the trip from Woodbury, NJ will be Karen Mason. After being diagnosed at the age of 49, she quickly discovered that getting involved in the ovarian cancer community was a great coping mechanism. Last Fall Karen was invited to be a member of the Dept of Defense’s Integration Panel where proposals are chosen for funding by the Department of Defense’s Ovarian Cancer Research Program. She also serves as a patient advocate for the Fox Chase Cancer Center ovarian SPORE as a full participating member of their Institutional Review Board evaluating consent forms for clinical trials. Karen is continually involved with NED (no evidence of disease) and is a part-time ICU nurse, wife and mother of two sons.