TV Presenter Cherry Healey hailed pioneering research which is using fruit flies to help find a cure for a strain of cancer known by medical experts as "the silent killer".
The bubbly blonde, best known for her BBC3 series, "Cherry does" saw first hand the ingenious work being carried out by scientists studying the causes of ovarian cancer.
The womens' self-help journalist visited staff at the University of Liverpool who are working with fruit flies because of the abnormally large size of their ovaries.
She said the groundbreaking techniques employed by scientists was an extraordinary step toward finding a cure for the potentially lethal disease.
Mum of one, Healey said: "I can't believe what they do here. It is absolutely extraordinary," said Cherry.
"The scientists are using these tiny insects to find a way to stop the spread of ovarian cancer.
"The ovaries of a fruit fly are huge - if I was a fruit fly my ovaries would be the size of two footballs.
"The similarity to human ovaries has led to this ground-breaking research and will hopefully lead to a cure."
Cherry is supporting the North West Cancer Research Fund's O-Very campaign and explained that women are at high risk from mild symptoms and misdiagnosis.
She warned: "Women are unlikely to think they have ovarian cancer because the symptoms are often similar to a stomach ache or doctor's may misdiagnose cancer as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
"I was shocked and moved to hear that ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK, killing 4,000 people every year," she said.
"The key is to talk openly about its symptoms to encourage early diagnosis.
"Ninety per cent of women could survive if diagnosed at an early stage so the O-Very campaign is all about raising awareness."
Around £1 million is spent every year by the research fund who use the money to provide grants for important work to help stop the spread of cancer or even find a cure.
Dr Daimark Bennett is one of the researchers leading trying to find out if fruit flies can help save womens' lives.
He said: "The human ovary is very similar in its genetic make-up to that of a fruit fly and we are interested in how the disease spreads and restricts the movement of cancer throughout the body.
"Ovarian cancer is an aggressive disease that is difficult to detect before it has spread to other parts of the body.
"Treatment can be very difficult and less than a third of patients survive more than five years after diagnosis, in fact this is an optimistic timescale.
"Our goal is to better understand the cause and mechanisms of this invasive cancer. Without knowing what causes cancer and how it spreads we will never find a cure."
Writer and journalist Cherry also met patients receiving treatment: Janet Bailey had her ovaries removed as a preventative measure and Debbie Taffe is currently battling the disease.
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