I'm breaking out the colour teal and loving it! ~
Acorns are getting painted teal and nestled in coffee filter roses, beside vintage globes sporting teal oceans. It's all nestled beside a shabby plaster angel on my bookshelves.
It is a daily reminder that the race for a cure for ovarian cancer needs the help of legions of angels and each of us can be one of those angels.
I'm going to do some blatant bragging about my son in law, Dr. Trevor Shepherd, now. He leads a team of scientific researchers at the Lawson Health Research Institute, in London, Ontario.
They have recently made a breakthrough discovery of what is being called a Jekyll and Hyde molecule and this discovery can have a profound effect on treatment protocols for women suffering from ovarian cancer. To read about this discovery, you can click on the link here. Ovarian cancer is a silent stalker, usually not diagnosed until it has progressed to the later stages. This kind of research can save lives and, with 2,800 women in Canada alone being diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, that's a whole lot of women praying for angels to step up and help fund life-saving research.
Ovarian cancer research is poorly funded. It doesn't have the corporate sponsorship that breast cancer research has through the pink ribbon campaigns. Think of all the products you see with a pink ribbon on it. We are always happy to know that a portion of the sale goes to such valuable research.
Teal is the colour for ovarian cancer awareness and raising research funds. How often have you bought a product with a teal ribbon on it? It's just not out there for us to buy.
Trevor spends countless hours filling out grant forms and drawing up research proposals to keep his research funded. It uses up valuable time that would be better spent in the lab and in working with physicians on clinical trials. Still, there is never enough money.
I've often wondered if local fundraising was truly important to this kind of work. Trevor tells me it is critical to his work. He praises the organisers of fundraising events in his area and considers them important members of his research team. He never spends Mother's Day with his own mom or with his wife, the mother of his six kids. Instead, he gives a speech and joins in the London Run For Ovarian Cancer. It costs $200,000 to $300,000 to run the lab each year. This year, the run raised $189,900 of that money.
This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to be shining angels. Small donations, even as little as $10 can make a big difference to your local ovarian cancer fundraisers. I urge you to look up your local fundraiser for this cause and give a little (or a lot if ya got it to give!). I guarantee you will be encouraging some research team to keep fighting the good fight!
This fall, bring on the teal. Wear it, paint it, talk about it and donate to it! ~
Don't forget to add an angel to the decorations because your help officially makes you one!
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