LEWES, Del. - Dozens of teal ribbons are hanging across Lewes and in other towns on Delmarva. This is part of a national campaign to raise awareness for ovarian cancer.
The Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Beebe Hospital, local politicians, and other volunteers gathered in Zwaanendael Park to begin coloring the town teal. Through September, people in Lewes will see teal ribbons while paying for parking or taking a stroll downtown. This is the fifth year that the town is playing a role in National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
Henrietta Belcher Stack of Millsboro was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 8 years ago on September 1st, the first day of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
"I didn't even have ovaries," she says.
That's why all women should be on the lookout. Belcher-Stack now serves as the Sussex County Representative for the Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She wants to help others catch the disease early on as it's the 5th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women ages 35 to 74. Click here to learn more about her story.
"A lot of times women will have ovarian cancer and not even realize it. Pay attention to the signs. Some of the signs are bloating, constipation, frequent urination."
In addition to hanging these teal ribbons across town, the volunteers today also distributed these packets to businesses so that they could help raise awareness about the risks. Mayor Ted Becker says it's especially important to launch this campaign before more people come to town for Labor Day Weekend
"The fact that we have so many people here that fit the age demographics of when ovarian cancer strikes, it's important to raise awareness."
"This community has been participating in ovarian cancer awareness for five years. We'll have a tremendous amount of visitors in town over the weekend. This is a great opportunity to not only inform our residents but also to inform our visitors."
For Nancy and Haley Will, this is a great opportunity to remember wife, mother, and nurse Cheri.
"When my mom was first diagnosed it was ovarian cancer awareness month, September of 2017."
"She was very dedicated to the cause of domestic violence sexual assault awareness and I think she'd be very proud to be part of promoting ovarian cancer awareness as well."
Cheri's coworkers at Beebe Hospital hung ribbons around the campus as well.
Other ways to support the cause are by wearing teal clothing on Tuesdays, getting teal hair extensions, wearing teal Awareness bands, displaying teal ribbon car magnets and by polishing nails as teal " tips and toes."