Why Are Teal Ribbons Hanging on Light Posts in Doylestown?

DOYLESTOWN, PA—Large teal ribbons are once again hanging on light posts around Doylestown to commemorate National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, which begins in September, and to raise awareness about the cancer that masquerades as common conditions.

Groups of volunteers hung the ribbons on Saturday morning as part of the Turn the Towns Teal campaign. The goal of the national event, explained Joan Doyle, a former member of Doylestown’s borough council, is to highlight the importance of women knowing the symptoms and risk factors of ovarian cancer.

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Doyle has presided over the borough’s Turn the Towns Teal events since losing her sister to a six-year battle with ovarian cancer. She wants to help other women avoid meeting the same fate as her sister.

Ovarian cancer is insidious, Doyle explained, because symptoms of the disease are often mistaken for other issues. “These symptoms mimic everything else that women experience with their abdominal area,” she told a group of about 30 people gathered in front the Starbucks in the center of town on Saturday morning.

Symptoms can include bloating, abdominal or pelvic pain, discomfort like nausea and indigestion, unexplained changes in bowel habits and a host of other common conditions. Pap tests can’t detect ovarian cancer, so the disease is often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed until later stages that are harder to treat.

Saturday morning’s ceremony aimed to raise awareness about the disease by honoring survivors and victims of ovarian cancer and telling their stories. One of those women was Susan Hutchinson, a 15-year survivor of ovarian cancer.

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Hutchinson told the group about her long struggle to explain her health problems back in 2009. She recalled that she was experiencing lower back pain and terrible heartburn and was very tired. “I couldn’t even think about walking around the block without taking a nap,” Hutchinson said.

Doctors were initially stumped by Hutchinson’s symptoms, but they eventually diagnosed her with ovarian cancer. She underwent surgery and then enrolled in a nationwide clinical trial through her physician at Abington Hospital. Years later, Hutchinson said she learned that she was one of only two women to survive the trial.

Despite her harrowing experience with the disease, Hutchinson held herself up as an example of why women need to fight ovarian cancer and remain optimistic. “I realize there’s not a lot of hope with this disease,” she told the crowd, “but you can't give up hope.”

During the ceremony in Doylestown, Doyle read from a long list of women from the Bucks County area who had survived or succumbed to the disease. Several widowers and family members of women who had died from ovarian cancer were on hand to lend their support.

The group also heard from local elected officials who urged women to pay attention to the signs of ovarian cancer. Doylestown Borough Mayor Noni West pointed out ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among women in the U.S. and that nearly 20,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year.

Shortly before noon, the crowd split off into smaller groups and got to work tying teal ribbons onto light posts. The ribbons will remain through the fall, giving people walking and driving through the borough a visual reminder to pay attention for signs of ovarian cancer.

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