Woodbridge takes part in Turn the Town Teal effort
Campaign uses ribbons to boost awareness of ovarian cancer
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

Woodbridge Township has joined other townships in New Jersey participating in the statewide Turn the Town Teal campaign in September by wrapping teal-colored ribbons around trees up and down Main Street.

WOODBRIDGE - Doctors gave Janice Lopez of Edison only two months to live when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2005.

Twenty-one months later, Lopez and her family have become strong advocates of raising awareness of ovarian cancer.

"If someone sees any changes in themselves, they should go to the doctor," said Lopez. "I hardly ever went to the doctor before, because I was afraid, but I have been blessed with wonderful doctors [at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rahway Hospital]. It's important to stay positive and keep on fighting."

Lopez said she started feeling sick a month before she was diagnosed with the cancer.

"It came all of a sudden," she said. "I was just not feeling well. My stomach got chubbier, I looked like I was seven months pregnant."

Lopez finally went into the emergency room, and three days later she had surgery. Lopez was diagnosed with stage 3B ovarian cancer.

"They [doctors] found a rare tumor and removed what they could," she said. "I must have gone from 165 pounds to 100 pounds when they drained my stomach. They told my three sons and my husband that I only had two months. I was oblivious to all of this."

Lopez joined Lois Myers, marketing manager and co-founder of the Kaleidoscope of Hope Inc., the Morris County-based ovarian cancer group, who began the Turn the Town Teal campaign; Mayor John E. McCormac; Phyllis Jaroszewski, whose sister died of the cancer in 2005; and Vito Mazza, on behalf of the Downtown Merchants Association, to announce Ovarian Cancer Awareness month in front of the Vito Mazza Spa and Salon on Main Street on Sept. 13.

The township has joined other townships in New Jersey participating in the statewide Turn the Town Teal campaign in September by wrapping teal-colored ribbons around trees up and down Main Street. Teal ribbons can also be seen around town hall.

Myers, who co-founded the Kaleidoscope of Hope Inc. with Gail MacNeil and Patricia Stewart, said the foundation is about early prevention.

"It is very important to make people aware of ovarian cancer, because the cancer is a silent killer," said Myers. "The symptoms can be subtle and can be misinterpreted to be something else."

The foundation was started by the three ovarian cancer survivors - Myers, MacNeil and Stewart - in 2000 when they decided to turn their experiences with the cancer into activism. The foundation serves as New Jersey's primary advocate and fundraising organization dedicated solely to boosting the survival rate from ovarian cancer and bringing new hope to all the women and families affected by the disease.

Ovarian cancer, which is difficult to detect in the early stages, is the fourth-leading cause of death from gynecological cancers in the United States. Only 19 percent of ovarian cancers are found at the stage before it spreads outside the ovary, which means the five-year survival rate is 44 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

Symptoms of the disease include discomfort in the abdominal and pelvic region, swelling of the stomach, continuous fatigue and unusual weight gain or loss, notably in the abdominal area. Ongoing gastrointestinal complaints including nausea, indigestion and gas are reported, and pain during intercourse and bleeding between periods or after menopause are signs of the disease.

The foundation has raised more than $800,000 for medical research through walkathons, golf tournaments, silent auctions and fundraisers.

Myers was found to have stage 3B ovarian cancer in 1999 and in the end had to undergo a hysterectomy.

"I thought my symptoms were due to my stress," said Myers, who said there were not that many resources for patients when she was diagnosed. "All I knew about ovarian cancer was Gilda Radner from SNL [Saturday Night Live] had the cancer. She put a name and face to the disease."

Myers said her gynecologist saw something when she went for a regular check up in 1998.

"The doctor told me that it was probably another fibroid tumor since I used to get them in 1992," said Myers. "He told me to see what happens until my next gynecological check up. I had faith in my gynecologist because I didn't know any better."

Phyllis Jaroszewski of Woodbridge said her sister Dolores Kosierowski's death two years ago from ovarian cancer devastated her entire family.

"She was just too young," said Jaroszewski, whose sister died at the age of 52. "My sister showed all the signs, but the doctors kept on dismissing the cancer to be premenstrual syndrome. This is why educating women and doctors on the signs of the disease is so important."

Jaroszewski said her sister's cancer, like Myers', came all of a sudden.

"My brother-in-law and I were with her from the start," she said. "She was sick for a while and then she was OK and fine for a while. We went to California, and then we had planned a trip to go to Cape Cod, but she never made that trip."

For more information about ovarian cancer and the Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation, visit www.kohnj.org. The Vito Mazza Salon and Day Spa, 114 Main St., is offering its services to cancer patients. For more information call (732) 636-0119.