09-05-2025
Advocates raise awareness for ovarian cancer in Fairmont
FAIRMONT, (WBOY) — May 8 is World Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day, and in Fairmont, advocates took time to hang teal balloons in front of the courthouse to raise awareness of the disease.
The teal balloons have become something of a tradition for Kelli Bledsoe, an ovarian cancer survivor whose mother passed from the disease, as this is the fourth year that she's hung up the balloons.
'The more I can tell people about ovarian cancer and what to do,' Bledsoe told 12 News. 'The more lives we can save. The earlier detection, more lives saved.'
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The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition reported in 2020 that 200,000 women died of the disease that year and that it's tricky to recognize ovarian cancer as its symptoms, like bloating and abdominal pain, can be mistaken for other ailments.
Advocates in Fairmont called for the public to get genetically tested for ovarian cancer in order to help with early detection. Mutations to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are known to lead to an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancer.
The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition has reported that up to 25% of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer had a hereditary tendency to develop the disease.
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