By Joe Pike
mail@floridanewsline.com
The fight against cancer has two new Northeast Florida warriors: The Real Teal and a student-led public relations class at the University of North Florida.
This semester a new, local nonprofit focused on creating awareness and resources for women and men in the fight against ovarian cancer has reached out to a senior level public relations class for assistance.
Chelsea Bladen, founder of The Real Teal and former public relations student at UNF was inspired to begin this nonprofit because of her personal relationship with ovarian cancer.
“My mom was diagnosed in March 2014 as stage IIIC and passed in July of the same year. The fact was we were all unaware of the symptoms. She had a great doctor who diagnosed her right away, but that didn’t change how advanced the cancer was,” Bladen said.
After her mom’s passing, Bladen looked around to see what ovarian cancer resources were available. Although she found some great organizations, none of them were local.
With the spring semester drawing to a close in a few short weeks, the public relations class has created an entire campaign for Bladen and The Real Teal in the hopes that it helps create new opportunities and exposure for the worthy cause.
“This course is a huge advantage to nonprofits, one I highly recommend exploring for the sake of the nonprofit and giving students the opportunity to learn how to develop these campaigns for their professional careers,” said Bladen.
The public relations class released a statement regarding their role in this effort, stating, “There are a large number of women who are obtaining ovarian cancer in our society and an even larger number of women who are uneducated about its symptoms and stages. We hope our campaign will not only be a key tool in raising awareness about ovarian cancer, but will also be a source of educating our audience.”
Bladen and this class believe that awareness is the world’s greatest non-medical tool against fighting ovarian and all other cancers.
The Real Teal provides valuable information and encourages women to watch for symptoms that could be early signs of ovarian cancer, such as bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating or feeling full quickly or feeling the need to urinate urgently or often (symptoms courtesy of therealteal.org).
To learn more about ovarian cancer and how to combat it, visit www.therealteal.org and consult your physician.
Photo courtesy Joe Pike.
Members of the senior level public relations class at UNF who are assisting The Real Teal with its marketing efforts.
