Saturday, September 1, 2012

Why Teal?

It's here - it's September 1st - the start of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. So Why Teal?

The easy answer is that teal is not pink, or red or yellow - the colors of ribbons that we see so often that we are no longer affected by their associated meaning. Teal stands out everywhere from your license plate to your toes. Teal is different and ovarian cancer is different.

 Ovarian cancer does not have a screening test that your doctor, insurance company, employer or family will assure that you have on an annual basis. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are silent and subtle, until the disease has progressed. The symptoms hide themselves in an easy to pass off manner, and are too commonly blamed on changes in diet or aging. The symptoms do not present themselves like a lump under your touch or numerical results of a test.

Awareness is crucial when 15,500 women will die this year. Women who had a better chance of surviving if they would have reacted to the symptoms sooner, understood earlier, asked questions with perseverance, and insisted that others listen and not dismiss the odds as too high. The cost of not reacting quickly enough is that deadly.

Teal makes people stop and ask - Why Teal? Have the answer ready - it could save her life.

No comments:

Post a Comment