With the recent hoopla over William deVry's (Julian Jerome) contract drama with General Hospital, fans understandably tended to focus solely on deVry's merits and talent as an actor. A recent announcement, however, shines a light on the good that the actor wields with that celebrity status.
The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation announced today that William deVry will join them as an ambassador. deVry will continue to be a partner to the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation in the fight against ovarian cancer.
"The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation has made great progress against ovarian cancer by combining awareness, public education, and funding cutting-edge research," said Robin Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. "We are so excited to have William deVry bring his voice to this public health initiative that empowers everyone to play a role in the fight against ovarian cancer. His dedication to raising awareness for this disease makes him a very powerful ambassador."
deVry has been involved with the foundation for several years, participating in a General Hospital Q&A fundraiser held in September for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Passionate about the cause, deVry will become more involved in the foundation and its efforts as a formal ambassador.
"I am honored to join Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation in this extremely important cause," said William deVry. "I share their passion to make a difference for the 188,000 women in the U.S. currently living with the disease. I am excited to join them as they raise awareness for early detection of ovarian cancer and support those women currently diagnosed."
Due to the subtleness of ovarian cancer symptoms, and because there is no single reliable easy-to-administer screening tool, ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose. Yet it affects one out of every 75 women. It is the most fatal of all gynecologic cancers, with a five-year survival rate of only 50%. When ovarian cancer is detected early, more than 90% of women will survive longer than five years. However, only 15% of women are diagnosed in the early stages. When diagnosed in advanced stages, the chance of five-year survival is only 45%.
There is a meet and greet that will benefit the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation scheduled for September 16 in Philadelphia. For more information on the event and how to get tickets visit here.
To learn more about the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation and how you can get involved, visit www.sandyovarian.org/get-involved-2/.
Are you glad to seek deVry take on a more formal role in the foundation? Do you admire this use of his celebrity status? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
