Officials Turn Chatham Teal For Ovarian Cancer Awareness

CHATHAM, NJ — Teal ribbons will be tied around Chatham Borough trees in September to honor a Chatham resident while also raising awareness about ovarian cancer.

Chatham Borough Council will adopt a resolution in September for the 16th year to "Turn The Towns Teal," a campaign inspired by Gail MacNeil, a Chatham resident who battled ovarian cancer for a decade.

The council's approval of the resolution will bring Chatham Borough on board with Turn The Towns Teal's national awareness-raising campaign, with many other towns across the country doing so as well in September.

Any banners or signage used in the campaign must be reviewed and approved by the Borough's Zoning Officer before being placed on Borough property, and all ribbons must be removed from Borough trees by Sept. 30, borough officials said.

As the fifth leading cause of cancer death, ovarian cancer is a "silent disease," with symptoms frequently creeping up on women. The survival rate from ovarian cancer is 90-95 percent if detected early, but the relative five-year survival rate is 46 percent because it is so difficult to detect early.

MacNeil founded "Turn The Towns Teal" after being inspired by her own experiences. According to the organization's website, MacNeil realized firsthand during her ten-year battle with ovarian cancer that not enough was being done to publicize the disease's symptoms.

MacNeil and two other ovarian cancer survivors, Lois Myers and Patricia Stewart-Busso, also co-founded The Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation (KOH) in May 2000. The mission of KOH is to raise funds for ovarian cancer research and raise awareness of the disease's symptoms.

KOH has donated more than $2 million to organizations and institutions involved in ovarian cancer research and disease advocacy since its inception.

Turn the Towns Teal partners with the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance. For more information about Turn The Towns Teal, visit www.turnthetownsteal.org/.