Volunteers Turn Doylestown Teal For Ovarian Cancer Awareness

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Doylestown has again taken on the color of ovarian cancer awareness for the month of September thanks to a band of volunteers who spent Saturday turning the town teal.

Hundreds of teal ribbons are now adorning lampposts, trees and even a landmark giraffe in front of Monkey’s Uncle to make women and men aware of ovarian cancer, its often subtle symptoms and the risk factors involved.

Jane MacNeil, the national president of Turn the Towns Teal, attended Saturday's event to personally thank the volunteers and to speak about the “power of the ribbon.

“In my hometown, there was a young woman jogging through town. She saw a ribbon and said to herself, ‘I haven’t been feeling right and my grandmother passed from ovarian cancer.’ She went to the doctor who blew her off. But she persisted and got to the head of gynecology/oncology at the Carol Simon Cancer Center. She was in surgery the following week. That is the power of the ribbon and that is the power each one of you are sharing today by tying ribbons throughout your beautiful town of Doylestown.”

MacNeil commended former Doylestown Borough Councilwoman Joan Doyle for organizing the event for the 17th year. She also recognized support received from the Doylestown Rotary Club and from Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach.

The Turn The Town Teal volunteers.

(Jeff Werner/Patch)

Pauline Edbrooke of Doylestown helps Turn The Town Teal. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Tim Edbrooke adds a ribbon to the giraffe in front of Monkey's Uncle on South Main. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

"I am honored to make the trip from New Jersey to be part of Joan’s wonderful campaign and seeing all the ribbons displayed throughout the town is heartwarming," she said.

Doyle coordinated the first Turn the Town Teal event close to two decades ago, spurred on by the memory of her older sister, Anita Stein, who died from the disease after an almost six year battle.

“This is all about directing attention to learning symptoms and risk factors for ovarian cancer and catching this disease early to give people a fighting chance against this disease," she said.

Doyle was joined at the event by Mayor Noni West who remarked on the research being done on the disease thanks to the advocacy of Turn the Towns Teal and people like Joan and Cathy Hoot, the survivors, "and all of you who are here today," Mayor West told the crowd.

Before heading out to teal the town, Doyle introduced the gathering to a number of Ovarian Cancer warriors who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and have either survived or are still battling the disease. She also shared the names of those lost to the disease.

Sharing their stories at the event were JoAnn McHugh, Mary Skorupa, Barbara Tenner and Rhonda Fiehler.

Mark Doyle helps Turn the Town Teal. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Sandy Pierce of Plumstead Township adds a ribbon to a tree on South Main. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

"Ovarian cancer turned our lives upside down 12 years ago," said Skorupa, a retired nurse who has lived in the borough for more than 40 years. "Early detection remains the best chance for a better outcome. That's where public awareness and events like this become so vitally important.

"I had some discomfort in my belly that would move around. It got worse strangely enough whenever I'd laugh," she said. "It took almost eight months to get a diagnosis. I want to tell all of you: be persistent with the doctors and listen to your body."

She was diagnosed in 2013, underwent surgery and chemotherapy. She was free for 13 months. And then it came back. "Each time I felt like I was jumping out of a plane and thinking, 'Will my parachute open?' So far it has," she said.

She's currently on her fifth recurrence and she's in the middle of six rounds of chemotherapy.

"I hope that hearing these stories will be an incentive to know the symptoms and the risk factors of ovarian cancer," said Doyle.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer

• Bloating
• Pelvic or abdominal pain or discomfort
• Vague but persistent gastrointestinal upset such as gas, nausea and indigestion
• Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
• Frequent and/or urgency of urination in the absence of infection
• Unexplained changes in bowel habits
• Ongoing unusual fatigue
• Menstrual changes
• Pain during intimacy