As an ovarian cancer patient I’ll admit that I often feel overwhelmed by the dismal survival statistics and apparent futility of fighting such a deadly disease. Approximately 2,800 Canadian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and five women die from the disease every day. Currently, there are more than 17,000 of us in Canada living with the disease. The relative statistics are similar in the United States where 21,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year, and 14,000 will die from it.

Because the symptoms are usually subtle and there is no reliable screening test, ovarian cancer is frequently misdiagnosed or not discovered until it has reached an advanced stage. This makes treatment difficult, which is a key contributor to its high mortality rate. Ovarian cancer has a five-year survival rate of around 46 per cent, compared to nearly 90 per cent for breast cancer.

Each year at the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope I’m proud to join a small but dedicated group of teal shirted survivors. Other participants in this key fundraising event wear white shirts— many in attendance at the walk are the husbands, children or grandchildren of those who have recently passed away. Unfortunately, since so many of us diagnosed with ovarian cancer die quickly after our diagnosis, the support network that typically forms around a cancer patient moves on quickly, creating what some have called a “leaky bucket” of advocates for the disease.

I was delighted this January when Ovarian Cancer Canada launched Ladyballs, their boldest and most successful marketing campaign to date. Their marketing team knew that to be successful they would need to create a slogan that could be heard above the din of other national campaigns. So rather than focusing on sad facts to illicit sympathy, the team at Ovarian Cancer Canada chose to focus on the tremendous strength of survivors and the power we all have to do something about women’s most fatal cancer.

Marketing executive and ovarian cancer survivor, Lauren Richards, spearheaded Ladyballs. Richards is a former Cossette Media and Starcom MediaVest Group executive who has operated her own Toronto media consultancy since 2013. She enlisted Canadian broadcasters, newspapers, magazines and online publishers to donate several million dollars worth of space and time for the campaign.

Those behind the promotion knew from the start that they were up against organizations that have become brands in and of themselves. For example, Movember is a brand for prostate cancer and Run for the Cure is an iconic brand in the fight against breast cancer. Knowing they had such low awareness and little money, it was a daunting task.

The Ladyballs campaign’s most visible component is a video spot in which women show their so-called “lady balls” by demonstrating chutzpah in the face of pressure or adversity. “Check out the lady balls on her,” one woman says to her co-worker after a female employee disagrees with a male boss’s decision during a meeting. “Look at the lady balls on her,” says a male announcer when another woman goes all-in during a televised poker tournament. In the concluding voiceover an announcer informs viewers that women have balls–their ovaries–and they’re always at risk. Viewers are then directed to donate to the cause at ladyballs.org.

As expected, the campaign has been highly controversial. Some critics say the ad insults women by comparing a uniquely female body part–the ovaries–to men’s testicles. They say that women don’t have to stoop to that level to promote an informed discussion. However, I personally disagree with this view. I hold the same opinion as Matt Miggins, a nursing student at St. Clair College in Windsor.

“They are not mad five women a day die from this?  I find it ironic that they are mad about words. People should be mad at the fact this is happening to our mothers, sisters and wives,” said Miggins. He said he thinks people should put things into perspective. “People need to ask themselves, if the word balls saves just one life, is it then worth it?”

According to Ovarian Cancer Canada, the campaign has been instrumental in raising awareness. Ladyballs has been responsible for a significant increase in requests for By Your Side, a resource provided to women diagnosed with the disease. It’s also led to a spike in calls to offices across the country, with callers citing the campaign as their reason for reaching out. One woman who heard a Ladyballs radio commercial immediately pledged $100,000 to the organization, and the campaign has garnered approximately $60 million in earned media impressions since its January debut.