On Monday, more than 30 volunteers joined Tell Every Amazing Lady About Ovarian Cancer (T.E.A.L.) to tie ribbons around trees along Fifth Avenue and North Flatbush corridors. The effort aimed to raise awareness for ovarian cancer and National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in September.
T.E.A.L. — also formally known as the Louisa M. McGregor Ovarian Cancer Foundation — partnered with the Park Slope 5th Avenue BID, the Brooklyn Lion’s Club-District 20-K1 and T.D. Bank to hang the ribbons, donated by Turn the Towns Teal.
Founded by Gail MacNeil in 2007 after her battle with ovarian cancer, Turn the Towns Teal is a national campaign that promotes awareness of ovarian cancer and its often subtle symptoms. Although MacNeil passed away in 2008, her family continued her legacy, and by 2015, the organization was registered in all 50 states.
T.E.A.L. Co-Founder and CEO Pamela Esposito-Amery, whose sister Louisa M. McGregor died of ovarian cancer in 2011, emphasized the importance of events like the ribbon-tying to raise awareness, given the lack of a screening test for the disease.
“This is one of the ways that we engage with the public to spread awareness and have everyone just stop for a moment and tell every amazing lady about ovarian cancer,” Esposito-Amery told Brooklyn Paper.
The ribbon-tying event precedes several September events planned by T.E.A.L., including the Parachute Jump Lighting at Luna Park in Coney Island on August 30 and September 1, and the 16th Annual Brooklyn T.E.A.L. Walk/Run Celebration in Prospect Park on Sept. 7.
“We’re looking to raise $250,000. It is so important to save our programs and to keep them running,” said Esposito-Amery. Her organization is the only community center of its kind in the United States with a mission to educate about ovarian cancer, raise awareness, and fund research for a screening test and cure.
Currently, there is no accurate screening test for ovarian cancer, which is often detected at a late stage. Symptoms include vague, persistent gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal bloating or swelling, frequent urination, back pain, unexplained changes in bowel habits, and weight gain or loss.
One in 78 women is at risk of developing ovarian cancer, with approximately 21,980 new diagnoses annually in the United States. The five-year survival rate is 50.8%, but if detected and treated early, it exceeds 92%.
Amanda Flashner and Anne-Marie Lawrence, volunteers who participated in the ribbon-tying event, shared their personal connections to ovarian cancer. Flashner, whose mother died of a rare form of the disease in 2013, emphasized the importance of early detection.
“Had [the doctors] realized what it was sooner, she might still be here today,” Flashner said. “So raising awareness is something really important to me and my entire family.”
Flashner, who is BRCA positive — a genetic mutation that increases the risk of ovarian and breast cancer — underwent a prophylactic hysterectomy and urged women to communicate openly with their doctors.
“Things that you might write off as just a stomach bug, if it doesn’t go away, get it checked out,” Flashner said. “Don’t just sit there and wait.”
Lawrence, diagnosed with estrogen dominance in her mid-40s, experienced post-menopausal bleeding and was later diagnosed with endometrial cancer. She urged post-menopausal women to maintain regular OB/GYN check-ups, as reproductive cancers often lack distinctive symptoms.
“It’s like women often believe, as my mother did in her generation and even mine, that once you go through that change in life, you no longer need to see your GYN,” Lawrence told Brooklyn Paper. “That is when you need to go because with the influx of your hormones, it could wreak havoc, and you don’t even know it.”
The Brooklyn Lion’s Club, a longtime supporter of T.E.A.L., sent a crew of 15 volunteers. Club member Myra Crumpe, who died of ovarian cancer in 2022, was remembered by the club’s chairperson, Eileen Freeman, who stressed the importance of raising awareness.
“It’s a disease, and it’s not well known, and it’s a silent killer,” Freeman said. “We have to be aware of what’s going on and help those who might be facing the same disease.”
Joanna Tallantire, executive director of the Park Slope 5th Avenue BID, noted that raising awareness about ovarian cancer helps women ask the right questions during their check-ups.
“The more people see us [tying teal ribbons], the more awareness we’re raising, and the more exploring [women] will do about this issue,” Tallantire told Brooklyn Paper. “It’s everyone’s health. If we can look after women, we can look after the whole community.”
To help T.E.A.L. reach its $250,000 fundraising goal, register for the walk/run, or to learn more about T.E.A.L.’s mission, visit telleveryamazinglady.org.