Edison turns teal for Ovarian Cancer Month First in county to join, town has survivor resident to thank BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer EDISON - The next time you're on Amboy Avenue, look to the trees. On them, you'll find ribbons of teal tied to the trunks - a symbolic gesture common since the days of Tony Orlando and Dawn. But this time, it is something new. The town has turned teal in honor of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and Edison has one particularly tenacious resident to thank for it. "The reason we are able to shed light on ovarian cancer is because a very passionate Edison resident, Dorinda Sporacio, approached our administration," Mayor Jun Choi said during a press conference on the lawn of town hall Sept. 5. Choi said that in 2005, 22,000 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and because of a lack of research funding, 16,000 of those are expected to succumb to the disease. "It is known as a silent killer since early detection has been quite challenging," Choi said. Sporacio, a longtime township resident, was diagnosed with the disease in 2005 after mentioning during a routine gynecological exam the somewhat innocuous symptoms that she had been experiencing. She had a pain on her left side and her doctor suggested some tests. It was only through a roundabout set of tests that the cancer was even detected. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy later that year and has been cancer free for some time. Mayor Choi said that her battle against the disease did not end when she became cancer free. She continues to lobby for research funds and patient support groups to shine more light on the somewhat rare form of cancer than ever before. "Rather than be a statistic," Choi said, "Dorinda is an advocate that has successfully lobbied our two U.S. senators to cosponsor the Cancer Screening, Treatment and Survivorship Act in 2007." Sporacio was chosen as one of two New Jersey delegates to the Lance Armstrong Foundation's annual summit in Austin, Texas. It was there that she got the idea to begin a support group for the disease. "I was at the summit, and they said they wanted every participant to think of a way that they could improve something in their local community in regard to cancer," she said. Sporacio came back and realized the closest ovarian cancer support group was too far for her and others with the disease from Central Jersey to easily attend - so she created her own with the help of the New Jersey Cancer Institute. Sporacio held meetings with staff members of both U.S. senators from New Jersey and convinced them to co-sponsor the bill that would help find the elusive diagnostic test that all women could get. "We don't have a screening test," Sporacio said. "A Pap smear does not tell if you if you have ovarian cancer. So we needed to have some kind of impetus for the government to do more research in that area." Lois Myers of Kaleidoscope of Hope, the Morris County-based ovarian cancer group who began the Turn the Town Teal campaign, said that the Garden State has the third highest prevalence of the disease, but it is often overshadowed by other causes - most notably breast cancer. "We want teal to be the new pink," Myers said of the ribbons that mirror the symbolic pink of breast cancer, "to make them aware of our cause. Though it doesn't affect as many women [as breast cancer], to the women that it does affect, it's much more devastating." Myers said that the research dollars for the disease are growing, and that has translated into upward of 400 drugs in various stages of development and FDA approval, but it is still far behind other, better-known diseases. Some scientists are looking to see if current drugs developed for use in other cancers would have beneficial effects for this cancer. "The research is primarily for early detection and treatment of people that are already living with the disease. There is nothing analogous to a mammogram currently for ovarian cancer," Myers said. Sporacio said that since there is no single test for the disease and diagnosis relies on several different tests and a combination of somewhat innocuous symptoms, that the most important person in the various steps from diagnosis to remission is the patient herself. "The crucial thing is for you to pay attention to your body," Sporacio said. "If something lasts for more than two weeks and it gets a little worse, if there is no improvement, you really need to go and see." She said it is better to know you don't have the disease than wonder if you do. "It's better that they go and tell you that it's not than for you to wait six months to a year and then be at a stage where you have to have the surgery and the chemo," she said. Both Myers and Sporacio said the key to beating the disease is research. They have high hopes that the dollars will be there to conduct the research for the cure. Until then, they are both tying teal ribbons around the old oak tree.