Nancy McKinstry – A Second Life

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Nancy McKinstry Endowment Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research. The response from friends, family, former colleagues and clients has brought me so much joy.

Your generosity is contributing to further breakthroughs in ovarian cancer research and the resulting innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship of women. We have set our sights on an ambitious goal of raising $1M to fuel this work, and to continue to attract and retain the brightest minds to the team.

In the past 18 years I have flourished. I have had the opportunity to spend time with Greg, my husband — sharing time we had never had with two busy careers, often from two different countries. We have laughed, we loved, and had the benefit of travelling extensively all while navigating life’s challenges.   

I have enjoyed countless cherished times with my three sisters; learned to row a single scull; designed and renovated two apartments; built our dream home on Gabriola; and helped community charities that are important to me, especially the Minerva Foundation, Simon Fraser University, and OVCARE, B.C.’s ovarian cancer research program. I have watched the next generation of leaders at Odlum Brown flourish, contributed to the success of four corporate boards, and spent time with close friends and family. 

This is the life that was given to me because of the groundbreaking research in gynecologic cancer in our province. In 2005, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which is usually a death sentence for women and a huge loss for those who love their mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends. 

How grateful I am to have survived. How blessed, how fortunate I feel to have had those 18 years. But now the cancer has returned to my body with a strength that cannot be beaten back. 

In the time I have left I want to make one more investment. Like the ripples in a pond, I want the impact I have been able to make to spread even further.