Briggs King to help turn Georgetown teal Aug. 31 for ovarian cancer awareness

The Town of Georgetown will again be displaying teal-colored ribbons to Turn the Town Teal in September.

For the fifth year in a row, Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, will team up with the Town of Georgetown to create greater awareness about ovarian cancer by participating in the Turn the Towns Teal campaign in September. She is asking for volunteers to assist her and Georgetown Mayor Bill West in this effort Friday, Aug. 31.

Turn the Towns Teal is a national campaign designed to raise awareness of what has often been referred to as a silent disease, because ovarian cancer's symptoms are typically vague and subtle. There is no reliable diagnostic screening for ovarian cancer, and that is why awareness of the known symptoms is so important. If ovarian cancer is detected in the early stages, the reported five-year survival rate is over 90 percent.

As part of the Turns the Towns Teal campaign, and in coordination with the Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Briggs King, West and their team of volunteers will tie teal-colored ribbons throughout the town's jurisdiction starting at 10 a.m., Aug. 31. The first stop will be The Circle in Georgetown. Briggs King and West invite any volunteers to meet them at Town Hall on The Circle to start hanging ribbons. The biodegradable ribbons will mark September as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. The ribbons will remain displayed for the entire month. Residents are also encouraged to tie teal ribbons on mailboxes and signposts on their property to support the campaign.

There is still no test for ovarian cancer, so knowledge of the vague symptoms is crucial. If the following persist for more than two weeks, they should be discussed with a physician: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and frequency or urgency of urination.

They mimic other conditions, thus are extremely difficult to diagnose. All women are at risk, and ovarian cancer affects 1 in 70 females of any age. Due to late diagnoses (fewer than 20 percent are diagnosed early) and a high recurrence rate of 70-90 percent, ovarian is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers.

For more information, go to www.deovariancancer.org.