\nLord Mayor of Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes said as Newcastle\u2019s Citizen of the Year in 2019, Jill was a lion-hearted advocate in the fight against ovarian cancer.
\n\u201cWe are in awe of the courage\u00a0Jill\u00a0showed following her\u00a0cancer\u00a0diagnosis, as she remained determined to achieve better outcomes for others despite her own failing health.
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![\"Jill-inside-cropped.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au\/getattachment\/Council\/News\/Latest-News\/Vale-Jill-Emberson-1959-2019\/Jill-inside-cropped.jpg.aspx\" "\\"Jill-inside-cropped.jpg\\"")
\n\u201cShe used her own\u00a0diagnosis to help\u00a0raise invaluable awareness of\u00a0ovarian cancer\u00a0and more than $20 million for research.
\n\u201cJill was so incredibly\u00a0generous with her time, despite knowing her cancer was terminal.\u00a0I was in awe of her willingness to work with the city and even to make herself available to speak with our staff, all the while in\u00a0ever worsening pain and suffering,\u201d\u00a0Cr Nelmes said.
\nJill\u2019s career in journalism gave her a platform to document the sometimes-lonely battle she and other women faced\u00a0against\u00a0the deadliest of all women\u2019s cancers.
\nAfter she was forced off air in early 2016\u00a0due to illness, Jill began to advocate for more funding and research while undergoing her own treatment.
\nUpon returning to the airwaves in 2018, Jill intimately documented her experience with ovarian cancer in the popular podcast\u202fStill Jill. In June last year, policy makers took note of her National Press Club address, \u2018The Cancer Down Under Killing Too Many Women’, before the Federal Government, influenced heavily by her fierce lobbying, committed $20 million to ovarian cancer research earlier in 2019.
\n\u201cI am humbled and honoured to be named Citizen of the Year in Newcastle and will use this precious opportunity to raise more awareness about ovarian cancer,\u201d Jill said when honoured at City Hall on Australia Day 2019.
\n\u201cAbout 1,500 Australian women are diagnosed with Ovarian cancer each year but our survival rate has been stuck at 45\u00a0per cent for decades.
\n\u201cResearch is the only solution to bring our survival into line with other more common cancers and for that we need awareness and funding.\u201d
\nThe official colour of Ovarian Cancer Australia \u2013 teal \u2013 shone from the face of the City Hall clock that night, and the City plans to honour Jill once again following consultation with her family.
\nVale Jill Emberson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"