Shop Teal For Ovarian Cancer

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. There are numerous ways that you can show your support and help raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA). The easiest, most cost effective and fun way to contribute is by SHOPPING TEAL.

Why SHOP TEAL? Not only is teal the BIG color for fall, more importantly teal is the ovarian cancer community's color and serves as a reminder that ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all the cancers of the reproductive system and a leading cause of cancer death among women. There are hundreds of online retailers that feature teal items and we've teamed up with a number of these retailers to highlight their teal products. The best part is that while SHOPPING TEAL, a percentage of your purchase will be earmarked to benefit OCNA. Teal may not be everyone's color, but not to worry, you can buy just about anything you want from our participating retailers and still have your purchase support OCNA. We have plenty of retailers to share with you in order to help you begin your shopping adventure in support of Ovarian Cancer, but first, let's get you familiar with the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.
Established in 1997, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance has become the foremost advocate for ovarian cancer in the United States. Until there's a cure for the disease, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance will lead the national initiative to conquer ovarian cancer. The organization unites individuals and organizations at the local, state, and national levels to advance ovarian cancer research in the quest for early detection tests, improved health care practices, and development of live-saving treatment protocols. The OCNA is helping save women's lives by raising awareness about this drastically understated disease. The organization teaches us to "Know your body. Know the symptoms. Help spread the word."


During a recent response to a threat of a funding reduction to the Department of Defense's Ovarian Cancer Research Program, OCNA urged advocates to contact their Members of Congress to appeal to the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee to increase funding for the research program. As a result of OCNA's advocacy efforts, 14 Senators and 77 Representatives showed their opposition to the funding cut by signing a Dear Colleague letter sent to the Subcommittee Tuesday, November 3, 2009. The Dear Colleague letter, written by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), requested that the Subcommittee allocate the $25 million set forth in the U.S. House of Representatives version of the Defense bill, and NOT the $10 million outlined in the U.S. Senate version of the bill. The Senate funding level represented a 50 percent reduction from the $20 million appropriated in fiscal year 2009. This single event alone was a huge success for OCNA, women all over the globe and the families who have been affected by ovarian cancer.


Lead by founding members: Patricia A. Goldman, President Emeritus, Kai Binford, Susan Lowell Butler, Bonnie Donihi, Pamela J. Faerber, Nancy Hines, Ann Kolker, Betty Reiser, Ceil Sinnex, Susan Wallace, Gail Hayward*, Carolyn N. Marks*, Cindy Melancon*, Rhonda Oziel* (asterisks represent founding members who are now deceased). Their mission is simple and straight forward. The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance works to advance the interests of women with ovarian cancer by:

1. Advocating for increased federal funding for ovarian cancer research that will lead to an effective early detection test, better treatment, and a cure.
2. Increasing awareness that early recognition of symptoms is the best way to save lives.
3. Educating medical and other healthcare professionals about ovarian cancer diagnosis and the need to provide referral to gynecologic oncologists.

Among the millions of ovarian cancer awareness supporters nationwide, there is a large celebrity backing for the OCNA. Superstar advocates or ambassadors such as: Janet Jackson, Kathy Bates, Rachel Zoe, Ray Romano and Jimmy Fallon have shown their share of support in various ways like charity events, marathons, and product endorsements. Other big supporters are Jack LaLanne of "Power Jucier" fame, Danica Patrick (NASCAR) and Rima Fakih (Miss USA).


Every woman out there needs to understand that our bodies speak to us and the best way to know whether we are in need of serious medical attention is by trusting our bodies to send us the necessary warnings of a potential illness. For many years the medical community told us that there were no noticeable symptoms related to ovarian cancer, but we now know that there are four very basic symptoms that are not only simple to remember, but also, all too easily dismissed not only by ourselves, but by our doctors as well. Nearly all of us have had some combination of these symptoms more than one time or another, and because they are generally common discomforts, especially as we get older, we often excuse them as normal everyday ailments that will pass with time. In many cases this is true and the discomfort passes. However, it is absolutely crucial that we do not ignore the warning signs. In a case like this, the saying "better safe than sorry" could not be truer.
Let us leave you with one last thought regarding cancer. It is of no difference whatsoever what form of cancer you have, as a woman, when it comes to the feelings of despair and anxiety that chemotherapy invokes. The side effects are no doubt physically uncomfortable if not painful, but for most women the greatest emotional trauma they suffer from chemotherapy is the loss of their hair. Many people have a hard time accepting why losing some hair is such a devastating experience, but we are women, we care greatly about our exterior beauty. Call it vanity if you like, but we, as women tend to lose our identity without our outer beauty -- a sad side effect of our social conditioning. But this image of Sharon Blynn; Ovarian Cancer Survivor, writer, actor and founder of www.baldisbeautiful.org, is a strong visual testimony to the fact that we can either have long, luscious locks or be completely bald and still be empowered with a dynamic sense of beauty that lets the world around us know that we're OK and here to stay!!

Now that you understand just how hard these amazing people behind OCNA work to educate and better the lives of women with ovarian cancer, I bet you'd like to know how you can help too! We've been working closely with a number of our retailers to highlight their teal products and have dedicated an entire category where you can just click on these teal products, buy them and help fund research and educational programs to raise money and awareness for ovarian cancer. While September 3rd is the official WEAR TEAL DAY to publicly show your support for the ovarian cancer community, we're dedicating the entire month to encourage a SHOP TEAL movement!

We've got to give our friends at DHC For Beauty and Health a great big thank you for coming in with a super amazing promotion! For the entire month of September DHC will give a $10 donation to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance on orders of $75 or more, plus free shipping!! If you're thinking DHC? Let us give you the scoop, they are the #1 skin care product sold in Japan - now, if you've ever envied the flawless beauty of almost every Japanese women you've seen under their umbrellas, it's likely they're big DHC fans. We especially love their line of Q10 products and with a generous $10 contribution and a capacious variety of skin care, body care and fine foods products, it'll be quite effortless to spend the $75 needed for both the contribution and the FREE SHIPPING!

Another shout out for their generosity has to go out to RED ENVELOPE, PRO FLOWERS, SHARI'S BERRIES and CHERRY MOON FARMS!

Each of these retailers ear-mark $10 per transaction to benefit our nonprofit partners. For the month of September, we've identified some beautiful teal products that we know you'll love...

Brand new to our retailer line-up is LOFT (do the happy dance now) and they have been great in helping us select some really cute and cozy teal items...

We couldn't be more pleased to have Chico's on board as well - we've found some wonderful teal items that we hope you'll enjoy. Love the scarf and it just about goes with everything!!

And let's not forget Macys - we found a caché of awesome accessories and home goods that are bound to round out your SHOP TEAL experience. We gotta hand it to the Macy crew for approving our wish list of teal items and turning this around as quickly as they did - Thanks!

Be sure to visit the SHOP TEAL page to see more from Macys.

We wanted to tie this up with a couple more items - The fitness shape-ups from SKECHERS and these Persian Blue slip-on from TOMS are a great way to show your support and spread the word by using the 'shoelace' express...

Does this list ever stop? Actually it shouldn't but we're winding down for now ... for all those notes you've been meaning to write, check out the teal paper at PAPER SOURCE .... Mix it up or stay true to your colors, they're a great resource for all your paper goods.

And finally to speak to the wellness aspect of surviving or living with cancer, more and more women are combining Western treatments with a holistic approach to healing both their bodies and minds. TEAVANA has a huge assortment of wellness teas that are certainly worth a try and SPAFINDER is a terrific resource overall to help you find the perfect wellness solution for a total body, mind and spirit overhaul. And finally, during the week of September 20-26 SPAFINDER is running a special with savings on private yoga and pilates sessions, spa treatments and more, so be sure to check' em out!