The Ovarian Cancer Institute is proud to announce a new partnership with ovarian cancer advocacy organization, Ovarian Cycle, as they count down to the fourth annual Ovarian Cycle: Ride to Change the Future, slated for April 28, 2007, at fitness clubs across metro Atlanta.

The mission of the Ovarian Cycle is to support research leading to a reliable screening test for ovarian cancer, and their signature cycling event inspires people to fitness while raising both funds and awareness for vital research. “It’s really easy to participate, and both men and women all over Atlanta are called to come join us in a ‘ride to change the future,’” explained Bethany Diamond, fitness expert and founder of the Ovarian Cycle. Through its fundraising efforts with this city-wide cycling event, the Ovarian Cycle was able to donate $25,000 to the Ovarian Cancer Institute in 2006. The Ovarian Cancer Institute, located at Georgia Tech, shares Ovarian Cycle’s mission of finding a reliable early detection test for a gynecologic disease unfortunately known as ‘the silent killer.’

When participants sign up for the fourth annual Ovarian Cycle, they are charged with raising a minimum of $400 in order to reserve a bike for the cycling event on April 28, 2007. Training begins on March 17, 2007, allowing riders to build stamina and work towards personal fitness goals for six weeks prior to the big 100-mile indoor century ride at participating fitness centers. Says Diamond, “If 100 miles is a bit much for one person, teams can actually share the ride, which takes approximately six hours on the day of the event. We ride for 55-minute intervals with five-minute breaks in between, and you don’t need experience to participate. We have all kinds of goodies to give out and fun activities taking place throughout the ride, so six hours won’t feel like six hours. Participants are always amazed at how fast it goes by and what a great time they have during their time on the bike.”

Ovarian Cycle participants can train for the entire six-week period for free at one of the participating fitness centers (unless otherwise stated), providing a great opportunity for fitness gurus and couch potatoes alike to check out fitness centers in their respective areas. Centers who have signed on so far include Athletic Club Northeast, Urban Body Fitness, Midtown Athletic Club at Windy Hill, Athletic Training Services and Peachtree Center Athletic Club.

I can't tell you how pleased we are to be partnered with an organization whose participants pour their hearts and souls into helping us raise awareness within our community about the 'other' gynecologic cancer that is sometimes misunderstood and many times ignored," commented Benedict B. Benigno, M.D., Founder and CEO of the Ovarian Cancer Institute. "We wholeheartedly support their efforts and share in their mission to discover a reliable screening tool for ovarian cancer, and we are working very hard in our labs at OCI to make this happen," he continued.

Ovarian Cycle founder, Bethany Diamond, was inspired to become an activist for ovarian cancer when her best friend, Debbie Flamm, lost her life to the disease at just 43 years old. “Even in her last months, Debbie stayed positive and upbeat. For the first two years after her diagnosis, she even ran the Peachtree Road Race,” remembered Diamond. Feeling helpless while watching her dear friend succumb to the cancer, something inside charged Diamond to make a difference and perhaps save others from losing their best friends, mothers or sisters. That’s when she founded the Ovarian Cycle, and four years later, the organization is full speed ahead, making significant contributions that are enhancing research, allowing doctors and scientists to chip away at the mysterious ways of this killer disease.

“We’re signing up Ovarian Cycle: Ride to Change the Future participants now, and we’re also in the midst of bringing more fitness clubs on board so that we’ve got a nice cross-section of facilities across the city that can accommodate all of our cyclists,” explained Diamond.

If you’d like to sign up, please visit www.ovariancycle.org, call (770) 321-6097 or e-mail to info@ovariancycle.org. Once someone has signed up, family and friends can go directly to the Ovarian Cycle site and pledge a dollar amount on his/her behalf.

To make a donation to the Ovarian Cancer Institute, please visit www.ovariancancerinstitute.org and donate directly from the site.

An annual event, The Ovarian Cycle was founded in 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia by international fitness expert Bethany Diamond. The goal of the event is to raise research funds to develop early detection methods and improved treatment outcomes for ovarian cancer. Ovarian Cycle has raised more than $250,000 for the cause. The official website of Ovarian Cycle can be found at www.ovariancycle.org. The Ovarian Cycle is located at 5881 Glenridge Dr. Suite 140, Atlanta, GA 30328; (770) 321-6097.

The Ovarian Cancer Institute (OCI) was established in 1999 by Benedict B. Benigno, M.D. and John McDonald, PhD, as a 501 (c) 3, not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding an early diagnostic test for ovarian cancer, understanding the molecular basis of ovarian cancer and the cause of chemotherapy resistance, leading to the development of more effective therapies for the disease. The Institute’s mission is to develop innovative research leading to earlier detection and more effective treatment of the cancer; to provide educational opportunities for medical professionals; and to educate women with respect to the early symptoms of ovarian cancer and to empower them to seek appropriate care immediately. The OCI lab is located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in downtown Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit www.ovariancancerinstitute.org or call (404) 385.7015.