Women’s Basketball Raises Cancer Awareness

Teal Bows 2-coverThe traditional rich green color of the Stetson University Palm Court turned a shade of teal Thursday as members of the Stetson women’s basketball team hung teal ribbons in recognition of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, which runs through the end of September. In photo, right, senior C.J. Coddington hangs one of many teal ribbons in the Quad. (Photo credit: Nicole Frechette, Stetson Athletics)

The team members also passed out fact cards about ovarian cancer and its symptoms as part of the national “Turn the Towns Teal” campaign that originated seven years ago in New Jersey.

“It feels good to help raise awareness about a disease that most women might not know about,” sophomore Amber Porter said.

The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about ovarian cancer, a disease that is often difficult to diagnose, making early detection a critical component of successful treatment.

Assistant Professor of Sport Management Matt Wilson, Ed.D., pictured below left, with some of the Stetson women’s basketball team, helped bring the campaign to the Stetson campus after seeing success of the program in his hometown of Bristol, Conn. Wilson’s aunt, Judie Lodovico, is an ovarian cancer survivor and has helped grow the “Turn the Towns Teal” program into a major campaign throughout that city.

Teal Bows 4-Group“I just think that it is a very valid cause,” Wilson said. “Ovarian cancer is known as a silent disease. If we can just help one person today as we pass out our fact cards then we have served our purpose. Whether it is a person directly on our campus, or a family member, it is a great cause as long as we can bring awareness. That is our number one goal.”

The Hatters were out in full force, hanging the teal bows on the palm trees surrounding the Holler Fountain and passing out information cards to students who were passing through on the way to class.

“Part of our values here at Stetson are to show our students the importance of giving back and serving in the community,” Wilson said. “We know that sport has a great avenue to promote change and awareness. Having the women’s basketball program here means a lot to me and it means a lot to the university to show that these are the types of global citizens that we are attempting to mold here at Stetson University.”

To learn more about ovarian cancer or to donate to the “Turn the Towns Teal” campaign, visit turnthetownsteal.org.

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by Jamie Bataille