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Teal is For Real

Dedicated to the women in my family who have been affected by ovarian cancer.

By Tatiana ParkerPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
Top Story - September 2017
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My artistic approach to support Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Teal is the color for Ovarian Cancer.

So, this one is going to be shorter than my other articles, but since it is September I wanted to dedicate this article to the women in my family who have been affected by ovarian cancer, including my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother.

I believe it is important to bring awareness because not only do I have a family history of it, but I have encountered a lot of people out there who have never even heard of ovarian cancer and it may be overshadowed at times. I think it is equally important to highlight it as much as any other cancer or illness.

However, I do want to put the disclaimer out there that I am not an expert. I am simply here to provide as much information as I can because the women in my family have been affected by it, I want to us my voice here to encourage other women to get tested, and simply make others aware.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It is a cancer that starts in the ovaries and if not treated it can spread and become fatal. It doesn't get talked about as often as breast cancer because it is considered to be rare.

There's less than about 200,000 cases in the United States each year, which is a small number, but still a lot of women. The main symptoms of this particular cancer usually include bloating, the need to urinate quickly or with some sense of urgency, a lack of appetite or difficulty eating, and pelvic or abdominal pain.

A few other symptoms might be, but not limited to fatigue, experiencing pain during sex, and changes in your menstrual cycle. If you are curious to know whether or not you are at risk some of the factors are a personal or family history of ovarian cancer, colon cancer, or breast cancer, an increase in age, and infertility issues, just to name a few.

My great-grandmother died of ovarian cancer in her 30s or 40s when my grandmother was 10 years old. When my grandmother was older, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but doctors were able to detect it early enough to treat it and remove it. In my mother's case, she went to the doctor and at first, they had found signs of it, but the second time she went they were not able to detect it and there hasn't been any detection of it since then.

I know I am 23 and I may be a bit young to get a mammogram, but knowing and having this information is very important to me because I eventually would like to get tested as well. I don't want to wait until it is at a point when it is too severe to do anything about it. The earlier I know, the better chance I'll have at preventing it.

I also encourage other women who may be reading this to do the same. Even if you don't have a family history of it any woman can still be at risk. Also, if you are concerned for a family member, friend, or loved one encourage them to get tested as well.

If you want more information, you can go to www.ovariancancer.org. It is the resource I go to the most and I also referenced it for this article. It has a lot of very useful information. Also, you can talk to your local physician and they may be able to provide you with good resources as well.

I hope this article was somewhat enlightening for you. Also, please let us keep others in mind who have been affected by ovarian cancer as well. This article is not only for my family, but for other families, friends, and women out there who are either fighting through it or have overcome it.

References:

"Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance." www.ovariancancer.org. Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, 2016.

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About the Creator

Tatiana Parker

23. GVSU Alumnus. Naropa University MFA student. Actress and aspiring writer. Twitter/IG: @tatianalparker

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