Ribbons tied downtown for ovarian cancer awareness month

By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
To promote National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Diann Glaza-Helbling of Clarkston helped tie teal ribbons through downtown Oxford earlier this September.
Tie Michigan Teal is a statewide campaign, designed to promote awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms. Teal is the color representing ovarian cancer, which is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers and one of the five leading cancer-related deaths among women in the United States.
The campaign is sponsored by Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MIOCA) and consists of volunteers tying teal ribbons to lamp posts in downtown areas and distributing awareness information to local businesses.
Diann has been raising awareness since her close friend Dee passed away in March 2019 after fighting the cancer for two years.
“Currently ovarian cancer has no early detection test and is often found in the late stages,” Diann explained. “We want people to know the symptoms of the disease so that women will go and see their doctors so it can be caught early enough to be treated. MIOCA also works actively raising funds to help fund research to help create an early detection test.”
MIOCA uses the slogan, “until there’s a test, awareness is best.”
Symptoms include bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and urgent or frequent urinary symptoms. MIOCA advises women to see their doctor, preferably a gynecologist, if any of these symptoms are new and occur more than 12 times in one month. Learn more at MIOCA.org.