Medical and Middle School students help turn Village of Warwick teal
WARWICK — Those teal (blue-green) colored ribbons that are now along Main Street are there for “Turn the Towns Teal,” a national awareness campaign to promote awareness of ovarian cancer and its silent symptoms.
On Wednesday, Aug. 31, students from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Middletown along with Warwick Valley Middle School students gathered on the steps of Village Hall before heading out to place those ribbons.
Turn the Towns Teal, organized here by Kathy Colquhoun, a 20 year survivor, occurs each year during September, which is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
The campaign was inspired by Gail MacNeil of Chatham, New Jersey, who passed away in June 2008 after a nearly 11-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Village of Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard thanked all the students and other volunteers present and he was especially appreciative of the medical students who traveled from Middletown.
Those who came to Warwick to help raise awareness for ovarian cancer are third year medical students at Touro doing their clinical rotations with Horizon Family Medical Group.
“We are proud of our Touro Middletown students and the many contributions they make to the community,” said Dr. Kenneth J. Steier, executive dean and chief academic officer.
According to Turn the Towns Teal Inc., every woman is at risk for ovarian cancer, and each year one out of 70 women is diagnosed with the disease.
“Ovarian cancer can be a terrible disease if not detected early and unfortunately, “said Dr. Alex Joanow, “We don’t possess adequate screening tools to detect this disease process. We rely heavily on educating the public on the vague warning signs that should lead them to their health care provider. Hopefully, this will be an invaluable experience for our medical students.”
Joanow, a resident of Warwick and one of the founding partners of Horizon Family Medical, is director of Clinical Rotations at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Middletown Campus.
To learn more about Turn the Towns Teal and the symptoms of ovarian cancer, visit www.turnthetownsteal.org.
- Roger Gavan