The short answer
The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, OCRA, is a nonprofit that funds ovarian cancer research and offers patient support. Its listed programs include a peer mentor program, one-on-one counseling, a free genetic testing program, and a patient registry called Living Lab. OCRA does not treat patients, and program details can change, so confirm them with OCRA directly.
OCRA is a nonprofit that funds ovarian cancer research and also offers support to patients and families.
CDC lists five main gynecologic cancers: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar. OCRA says its work reaches beyond ovarian cancer.
OCRA lists a Woman to Woman peer mentor program and Steps one-on-one counseling.
OCRA lists a free genetic testing program. Confirm current eligibility with OCRA.
On this page
Choose how you want to read this
The whole article, with every detail and caution.
An organization built around two jobs at once
The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance is known as OCRA. It is a nonprofit that funds ovarian cancer research and offers support to patients. It is not purely a research funder. It is not purely a support group. It tries to do both.
OCRA says its scope is broader than its name. CDC lists five main gynecologic cancers: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar. OCRA's programs are meant for people facing a gynecologic cancer diagnosis, not only ovarian cancer.
Support programs OCRA lists
Have you or someone you love just been diagnosed? OCRA lists programs built for that moment.
- Woman to Woman Peer Mentor Program. Pairs you with someone who has faced a similar diagnosis.
- Steps 1:1 Counseling. One-on-one counseling support.
A diagnosis is disorienting. Talking with someone who has been there can help, but it does not replace care from your medical team.
Genetic testing and research
OCRA lists a Free Genetic Testing Program. This can matter. NCI says changes in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can affect treatment options for ovarian cancer. Ask your own team whether genetic testing fits your situation.
For research participation, OCRA runs Living Lab, a patient registry for people diagnosed with ovarian or uterine cancer.
What OCRA cannot do for you
OCRA does not diagnose or treat anyone. The final choice of who treats you is yours.
Eligibility rules, cost, and availability of its programs can change. Nonprofit programs can be limited in scope or paused. Confirm current details with OCRA before counting on any one of them.
Joining Living Lab does not enroll you in treatment or a study. Any clinical trial has its own eligibility rules, set by that trial's research team.
Making a first move
If you are newly diagnosed, a reasonable first step is to contact OCRA and ask which program fits your situation. A real person can steer you better than guessing.
Treat OCRA as a source of connection and information. Layer it on top of your medical team, not in place of it. Program details and application steps change, so check OCRA's current site before you plan around any one resource.
Sources
- CDC: Gynecologic Cancer, types
- NCI: Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, and Primary Peritoneal Cancer Treatment (PDQ)
- OCRA program descriptions come from OCRA's own website, which is not a government or clinical source. Details are not independently checked.
Common questions
What cancers does OCRA cover?
OCRA says its work covers gynecologic cancers, not only ovarian cancer despite the name. CDC lists five main gynecologic cancers: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar.
What is the Woman to Woman program?
It is OCRA's peer mentor program, connecting a patient with someone who has been through a similar diagnosis, for one-on-one support.
Does OCRA offer counseling?
OCRA lists Steps 1:1 Counseling as a named program. Ask OCRA about current availability.
Is genetic testing through OCRA free?
OCRA describes a Free Genetic Testing Program on its site. Eligibility and current availability should be confirmed directly with OCRA, since programs like this can change.
What is Living Lab?
It is OCRA's patient registry for people diagnosed with ovarian or uterine cancer, used to support research rather than to provide individual treatment.
Does OCRA replace my gynecologic oncologist?
No. OCRA is a nonprofit offering information, connection, and research support. Diagnosis and treatment decisions stay with your own medical team.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Your next step
Turn this topic into questions for your next appointment.
Talk with a trained specialist or navigator
Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
Talk to a trained cancer information specialist
Free, confidential assistance from NCI Cancer Information Service via phone, chat, or email.
Contact your oncology team
Locate after-hours contact numbers, portal messages, or urgent triage phone lines.
Find a patient navigator
Get one-on-one help with appointments, logistics, translation, and care coordination.
Find a genetic counselor
Discuss inherited mutation risk, family history, and genetic testing options.
Find an oncology social worker
Access emotional counseling, family support groups, and mental health resources.
Find a financial navigator
Locate copay assistance foundations, grant programs, and lodging/travel support.
Find a clinical-trial specialist
Search matching studies and speak with NCI trial information specialists.
Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Sources last checked: 2026-10-02 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-09-03
Review details and limits
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status — Editorial review complete. This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
General education. Low-risk educational or organizational content. Medical facts are cited to authoritative sources.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Read more about our editorial process, our use of AI, and our corrections policy.
Spotted a problem? Report an error — a factual mistake, broken or outdated source, confusing wording, or anything that seems unsafe. Please do not include names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying medical information in your report.
After using this page, do you understand what to do next?
Anonymous — we only record the answer, never who gave it.