Teal Walk to Teal Talk - A Perfectly Teal Weekend

A Walk - Saturday
A few weeks ago I formed Team 1 Reason and registered my husband and I to walk in the Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation's Avon-by-the-Sea walk. KOH raises funds for ovarian cancer research. On Saturday on a beautiful autumn morning we drove east to the shore. I was thrilled that my cousins Fred, Janine, Marion and Allison joined my team and many more family and friends contributed to the walk. Although the last donations to the team are not yet posted online it looks like we raised ~$ 2900 for Ovarian Cancer research. The entire walk raised ~ $101,000 for research.

We all enjoyed a day at the shore and are already planning to attend next year.

Walkers gathering on the Avon NJ Beach before the KOH walk.

Team 1 Reason

A Talk - Sunday

I wrote about teen Kristin Gmunder's role in an Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day in my last post.

She put together a wonderful program which included these presentations:

"ovarian Cancer 101" by Wilberto Nieves-Neira one of the wonderful gyn-oncs at CINJ.

"Genetics of Ovarian Cancer"Michele Horner MS, CGC St Peter's University Hospital 

"Preventing Cancer through Nutrition" Teresa Grasso , RD,CDE St Peters University Hospital

"Advocating for Government Support" Janice Swierczek , VP- Teal Tea Foundation

I told my story as did Kristin's Aunt, Karen Herzog a survivor who is part of OCNA's Survivors Teaching Students program.

I can say I walked away learning something new from each of the courses. Did you know that you should not have more than 66 grams of fat at day if your daily intake is 2000 calories? Did you know that ovarian cancer is heterogeous? ( There is not a dominant mutation but rather many mutations.)  Did you know that you can reduce your risk of ovarian cancer by having your first child before the age of 25? Did you know you should eat multicolor fruit and vegetables to get good anti-oxidants? This was a very nice and informative day. 

Great Job Kristin!

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!

Ovarian Cancer Symposium Sept 29th Saint Peter's University Hospital

Last month I was asked to be a part of an Ovarian Cancer Symposium at St Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick. This symposium was not being organized by a national ovarian cancer organization or even a local organization. Rather it is organized by a young lady to raise awareness of the disease both her grandmother and aunt have faced. Kristin Gmunder, of Branchburg, is a junior in high school and this Symposium will help her achieve her Gold Award in Girl Scouting. She believes that women of all ages should know the symptoms and risks of ovarian cancer.

The day will include speeches on ovarian cancer symptoms, genetics, nutrition, advocacy and survivor stories. Details about the event can be found here.

I am impressed by the motivation and organizational skills of this young lady and I look forward to meeting her in person!


Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!