Ovarian Cancer Prevention Highlighted at Borough Hall

By DAISY WU

 Teal is the color that Brooklyn Borough Hall will be basking in for the next few days beginning September 3rd to the 12th to provide awareness of the dangers of ovarian cancer.

“We have to have men and women understand the health of women and how it affects the entire community,” declared Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo at a press conference Thursday at Brooklyn Borough Hall where officials such as Borough President Eric L. Adams, Councilman Rafael Espinal and representatives of T.E.A.L. (Tell Every Amazing Lady) stressed the difficulties in detection of the disease.

“Turn pain into purpose,” said Adams as he referred to Council Member Espinal. who had first hand experience with the cancer when his mother succumbed to the disease. Now he is collaborating with T.E.A.L. and the City Council to highlight the illness that claimed his mother’s life.

“That’s the greatest form of therapy” said Cumbo, “to use tragedy, pain and loss to help others.”

Pamela Esposito-Avery and her sister Louisa M. McGregor founded T.E.A.L. in 2009 after McGregor was diagnosed with the cancer in 2007. McGregor died in March 2011 after a four-year battle. Teal is the international color that represents ovarian cancer, proclaimed Esposito-Avery. The word stands for “Tell Every Amazing Lady”.

“Currently, there is no accurate screening test to detect ovarian cancer,” said Esposito. Adams added that it was the leading cause of gynecological cancers in the United States. Women tend to have various symptoms of the illness, which they interpret as other health issues.

The number of deaths corresponding to the number of new cases every year is alarms observers and scientists. “Twenty-one thousand new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed every year in the United States,” said Adams “Nearly 14,000 deaths are expected in 2015 from ovarian cancer alone.”

With early detection and treatment, ovarian cancer can be mitigated with a 92% survival rate of being cancer-free after five years.

Ovarian cancer is the 11th most common cancer and the 5th most deadly to women between the ages of 55 to 64. According to T.E.A.L., symptoms of the cancer can include:

• persistent gas
• indigestion and nausea
• bloating and/or pain in the abdominal area
• constant urination
• inexplicable weight loss or gain
• back pain
• difficulty in breathing/shortness of breath
• inexplicable postmenopausal bleeding.

The best way to determine and possibly rule out ovarian cancer is to visit the doctor at the first sign of unusual or persistent symptoms for future prevention.

The organization was scheduled to hold 7th annual walk on Saturday, September 12th in Prospect Park. Attendees can register through their website at www.tealwalk.org before online registration closes tonight at midnight. Registration can also be completed at the day of the walk at 8 a.m. in the Prospect Park Bandshell.