“The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.”
Clearity Foundation is dedicated to patients and is 100% focused on using science to address ovarian cancer, the deadliest of women’s cancers. It is only through new approaches and emerging treatments will women get the future of ovarian cancer care today. Clearity was founded by Dr. Laura Shawver, a scientist focused on cancer research.
#1 I grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and then on to the University of Iowa for a BS in Microbiology and a PhD in Pharmacology.
#2 I love living in La Jolla, it is one of the best places in the world.
#3 I am a morning person, usually getting up around 4:30 AM.
#4 Even though I have been athletic for most of my life, I have never been able to do a back flip off a diving board. I always hit my nose with my knees and end up a bloody mess.
#5 Lately, I have been using free time to ride a stationary bike, but usually free time is spent reading scientific articles or keeping up with interesting biotech companies.
#6 My spouse, Tracy Macuga and I have two dogs and two cats; Kuyima (a rescue dog from Baja Sur where she “found” us while on a camping trip), Vincent, Trippy and Monkey, also all rescues.
#7 I have a tattoo on my forearm that is the structure of a new DNA base pair developed by Dr. Floyd Romesberg when he was at Scripps.
#8 During my cancer treatment, I realized advances being made through precision medicine in other types of cancer were not happening in ovarian cancer. After completing my treatment in 2008, I launched The Clearity Foundation to ensure all women had access to precision medicine to ensure better outcomes in their treatment.
#9 One client named Claudia, discovered she had ovarian cancer in her early thirties. When Claudia asked her oncologist about freezing her eggs so she could have a family post-cancer, she was told, “You don’t need to do that because you aren’t going to live that long.” Then, Claudia found Clearity and had her tumor profile reviewed by our Scientific Director, Dr. Deborah Zajchowski, who gave her information about her specific cancer and potential treatment options that she was able to share with a new oncologist. Claudia credits Clearity with her survival and her hope.
#10 Funds raised through our “Teal Woman Celebration” will support direct patient programs. We call it “Teal Woman” because we know how important it is to celebrate these amazing people facing this devastating diagnosis and that it will take a revolution to improve outcomes as well as change the story for ovarian cancer patients.
