September - A Busy Awareness Month

Earlier today I realized that almost 30 days have gone by without posting to this blog. My best laid plans to keep up with posting just did not work out.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. This year more so than in the past I spent a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter posting information about awareness events and information on ovarian cancer. I posted for myself as Women of Teal (@womenofteal) and for the Kaleidoscope of Hope Ovarian Cancer Foundation (KOH) (@koh_nj) .

In addition to the work I did at home on the computer I also attended two KOH events as well as an event that my friends, the Lopez family, held for their foundation, the Janice Lopez Ovarian Cancer Foundation.

On Sept 18th I manned the Survivors Table at KOH's Gail MacNeil Morristown Walk. There were special survivor t-shirts, beads and notebooks for survivors. I was so happy to meet eight women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I created a large kaleidoscope image that the women could sign with their date of diagnosis. Eleven women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer signed the image.

I also got a pleasant surprise. I was awarded the KOH Spirit of Courage Award.

Some of the many walkers at the Gail MacNeil Morristown KOH Walk

Lynn Franklin , President of KOH awarded me the Spirit of Hope Award. 

The next Saturday I attended the Avon-by-the-Sea KOH walk, once again manning the Survivor Table. The day was rainy but that did not stop over 700 walkers from walking the boardwalk at the Jersey shore to help raise funds for ovarian cancer research.

Walkers on the beach waiting for the walk to start.

Bagpipes on the Boardwalk.

I was so happy to add more names to the kaleidoscope image.

Then on Sunday, September 25th, I attended the Janice Lopez Ovarian Cancer Foundation 3rd Concert for the Cure. It was an amazing afternoon listening to the Encore Orchestra of NJ and some amazing Broadway vocalists. Once again I was blessed to be honored by the Foundation and received their first Teal Champion Award.

What a month for me!  I appreciate the awards and being able to share some fun times with my husband and friends. Yet there were times during this month that I felt sad. Sad because so many women who were my friends and advocacy colleagues were not with me at these events as they had been in the past.  I missed Carole, Janice, Gail, Pam and others. It is in their memory that the advocacy work that I do takes on a special meaning for me.


Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!