Jill E M B E RS O N
k n i p n e h W
meets teal first met Jill Emerson late last year in a room behind an old heritage-listed art gallery in the NSW port town of Newcastle. Dozens of women were gathered around a long table, chattering brightly as they sewed silk and cotton flowers. Only two colours were used in their creations: the pink of the breast cancer awareness campaign and the teal of the ovarian cancer movement. Their conversations stopped, but their work didn’t, as the woman they were sewing for entered. At 60, Jill was dignified, warm, vibrant, and hiding the pain in her body, as she addressed the group about saving the lives of women with ovarian cancer. “It takes numbers – more women asking for change, demanding change,” Jill insisted. But there the problem lies, because ovarian cancer is so lethal that not enough women survive to raise the
I
60 The Australian Women’s Weekly | FEBRUARY 2020
awareness and research funding that could significantly improve outcomes. Which is why Jill – a broadcaster, wife mother and committed activist – resolved to bring together the pink and the teal, the breast cancer and the ovarian cancer awareness movements. “By working together we can make a difference,” she said determinedly. She knew she had little time but she had resolved to use all she had left to improve the odds for other women confronting ovarian cancer. Jill had a passionate nature and an engaging manner. As we spoke in a sun-drenched courtyard that afternoon, there were few outward signs she had terminal cancer. But within months of our interview, Jill died, tragically fulfilling the prophecy she was fighting to change. ➝
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX JACK.
Jill Emberson was a courageous campaigner for those, like her, whose lives are cut short by ovarian cancer. Shortly before her death she spoke with Genevieve Gannon of love and life, and the hope that her work will lead to better outcomes for women with cancer.
