Rehoboth Beach turned teal to fight ovarian cancer
Rehoboth Beach participated Aug. 23 in Turn The Town Teal, a national campaign to create awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms.
Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation volunteer Sally Oberle, Mayor Stan Mills, Sussex County Councilman Mark Schaeffer, ovarian cancer survivors and a handful of volunteers tied teal-colored bows to light posts on Rehoboth Avenue and the Bandstand. The organization turned Milton teal Aug. 9. They’re planning to turn Lewes teal Aug. 30.
Turn The Town Teal is an annual initiative that takes place in September during national Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, sponsors the campaign in its efforts to help save more women's lives through increasing awareness and education, raising funds for research, and helping women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
There is no test for ovarian cancer, so knowledge of symptoms is crucial. Symptoms can include bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and urinary symptoms such as frequency or urgency. The symptoms are vague, and if they persist more than two weeks, a woman should discuss them with her physician. The symptoms mimic those of other conditions, so the disease is extremely difficult to diagnose.
All women are at risk; the disease affects 1 in 70 females of any age. Fewer than 20 percent of cases are diagnosed early. Due to late diagnosis and a recurrence rate of 70-90 percent, ovarian cancer is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers.
Residents are encouraged to join the awareness campaign by tying a teal ribbon on their mailbox to show support. Other signs of support include wearing teal on Tuesdays, teal hair extensions, teal awareness bands, teal ribbon car magnets and using teal nail polish.
For more information on the Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation, go to deovariancancer.org.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories, random stories on subjects he finds interesting and has a column called ‘Choppin’ Wood’ that runs every other week. Additionally, Chris moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes during daylight hours that are jammed with coins, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
