Hundreds of colorful butterflies will decorate the air at the South Carolina State House on Sept. 25. At 5:30 p.m., this touching event will promote awareness of the whispering symptoms of ovarian cancer.
S.C. Ovarian Cancer Foundation Riverbanks Region Chapter hosts this annual “Whispers” event each September, National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, to remind citizens of the perilous battle that many fight every day.
Participants will release butterflies in memory or honor of relatives or friends who have been affected by ovarian cancer and other female-related cancers. These butterflies help personify the statistics of ovarian cancer. Each year more than 20,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and, of those, more than 15,000 will lose their lives. One in 72 women will develop some form of ovarian cancer in her lifetime.
Ovarian cancer is called “the disease that whispers” because women may not recognize the symptoms that signal the onset. Consequently, it is one of the deadliest cancers among women, often detected too late to be cured. If detected early, ovarian cancer has a 95 percent five-year survival rate. The survival rate drops below 25 percent for five-year survival for those who are in stage three, and five percent for those diagnosed in stage four.
Proceeds from the event help further the chapter’s mission of educating women in the Midlands about ovarian cancer. For more information on how to participate in the butterfly release, please contact Sandy Boozer or Cathy Novinger at (803) 926-3462.
