FOR A GOOD CAUSE—Oak Park residents have turned the town teal in honor of national ovarian cancer awareness month. From left, Trevor Darling, Robin Kaufman, Donna Lamm, Sheryl Smith Bogatz, Diane Darling, Cheryl Green, Laurie Fulton and Scott Darling. STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers To raise awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms, several Oak Park residents have turned their town teal.

Diane Darling and several other health-conscious folks tied teal-colored ribbons on the Welcome to Oak Park monument signs on Kanan and Lindero Canyon roads, and at various shopping locations to attract attention to the “silent disease” during Ovarian Cancer Month in September.

Ovarian cancer awareness has become a passionate focus for Darling since her mother, Dorene Smith of Sherman Oaks, died of the disease on Oct. 30, 2007.

Darling said her mother was misdiagnosed by four different doctors, three of whom were specialists in other fi elds.

“ None of them, including her own internist, recognized her symptoms as being ovarian cancer and kept referring her on to other doctors,” Darling said.

She was particularly angry that doctors didn’t understand the symptoms in spite of the fact that Cedars-Sinai had published and distributed symptom brochures to the medical community.

The diagnosis of ovarian cancer finally came when a surgeon scanned Smith’s abdomen and found fluid, which signified tumor growth. By that time, the ovarian cancer was at stage four and terminal.

When Smith was told of her dire medical prognosis she vowed to fight the disease, but treating advanced ovarian cancer is an uphill battle.

“When oxygen hits this kind of cancer, it spreads like tiny grains of sand,” Darling said. “So while they got the original masses, it continued aggressively growing.”

Darling said her mother died a year after her diagnosis.

“As she was dying, I promised her I would keep up the fight.”

Darling has kept her promise. Since her mother’s death, she has participated in Run for Her, a 5K run/walk for the prevention of ovarian cancer, and supported Ovations for the Cure and Relay For Life in Agoura Hills. To date, Darling has raised more than $3,500 for ovarian cancer research, with the hope that one day a reliable screening will be developed for early detection.

“If detected in the early stages, the survival rate for ovarian cancer is 90 to 95 percent, which is why this awareness campaign is so very critical,” Darling said.

This year, Darling decided on a new tactic to provide women with knowledge. She approached the Municipal Advisory Board (MAC) in Oak Park with the idea to turn Oak Park teal in September to coincide with Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

The Turn the Towns Teal campaign is a nationwide campaign that was launched five years ago to create awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms.

Laura Fulton helped Darling convince the MAC board to allow the Turn The Towns Teal campaign in Oak Park because a close friend of hers is battling the disease.

“My best friend was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2007,” Fulton said. “Ironically, Diane’s mom was in the hospital room next to my friend.”

Fulton’s friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 42. She is now battling her second round of ovarian cancer since she was originally diagnosed. “She is a young mom,” Fulton said.

In addition to teal-colored ribbons hung around town, Darling has distributed lawn signs for friends to display and has encouraged people to tie teal-colored ribbons to their mailboxes.

On Sat., Sept. 17, Darling will be at the Oak Park Shopping Center passing out symptom cards. On Fri., Sept. 30, she will pass out symptom cards at Stevenson Fitness.

‘The Silent Disease’

Ovarian cancer is often referred to as “the silent disease” because its symptoms are often vague and subtle, and include bloating, abdominal pain, eating difficulties, back pain, fatigue and other symptoms that could signify a variety of ailments that are not life-threatening.

Since there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer, women must be aware of the known symptoms and get tested early, Darling said. Common symptoms of ovarian cancer The most common symptoms include:

Bloating.
Pelvic or abdominal pain.
Trouble eating.
Feeling full quickly.
Urinary frequency or urgency.

Additional symptoms of ovarian cancer, which can also be symptoms of other conditions: Upset stomach, back pain, pain during sex, constipation, menstrual changes, unexplained changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight gain or loss, and ongoing unusual fatigue.