How did the idea for Teal Toes start? With a real conversation in 2006 like the one below. We encourage you to start your own conversation: the information you share could quite literally save a life.
Scene: School bus stop, the week after Labor Day.
(Usual hellos, how’s the school year going, etc.)
Tori: Wow! New pedicure? Carey: Yeah! Susan: What color is that? Blue? Carey: No, it’s teal. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and teal is the official awareness color. Judy: Gorgeous. Ovarian cancer? Isn’t that what that new vaccine is for? Carey: No, there’s nothing like that for OC. In fact, OC is often not diagnosed until the disease has progressed. Tori: But I thought that is what we get an annual pap smear for! Carey: Nope, pap smears test for other things. The symptoms of OC are often hard to see. They are:
Bloating
Pelvic or abdominal pain
Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency)
Judy: I think a friend of mine’s mother had that. She just thought it was a tummy thing until it was too late. Why haven’t we heard more about this? Carey: That’s why I painted my toes teal! So people would ask! Susan: Who did them? Carey: That new nail place over by the theater. They carry all the OPI colors, including this special teal. Tori: Hey, let’s go tomorrow! Meet me there!
This “conversation” was compiled from the various conversations our founder Carey had at the bus stop, gym, yoga class, a bridal shower, and various other places one September after she had first painted her toes teal. By the end of that month, many other people had started painting their toes teal too, in solidarity and support, and Carey realized this could be a way for many people to start their own conversations.
Ovarian cancer symptoms are sometimes said to “whisper.” We have all become far more informed than we once were about breast cancer; now it’s time to extend this awareness to its “cousin,” ovarian cancer (the “breast cancer gene” can also trigger ovarian cancer).
Ideas for a “Teal Toes” campaign:
September, Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, is the perfect time for one last pedicure for a cure and trying an “nontraditional” color.
For many women, teal is an nontraditional enough color that it does spark conversations, leading to further awareness.
Host a teal pedicure party at your local salon!
Teal is pretty! Have fun with all its great shades!
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Hi friends! I had planned to do this post sooner, but life had some other plans. :)
Many of you know that I got very sick last summer last summer and had to miss a lot of planned events. I'd like to share with you all why, now.
I had an arterial rupture.
So, 3 of 4 of the main arteries in my head (that go to the brain) ruptured. Thankfully, I'd been in the hospital for bleeding prior to the rupture, and they were able to save me, but it was a very, very close call. All of my doctors have told me that if I lost half of the blood I lost during the rupture that I could not survive it again.
Since then, I've had several pints of blood and at least 3 iron infusions. Some days are better than others, but I noticed a few weeks after this happened that I was having sinus headaches and migraines FAR more than usual, and they were very debilitating. A CT scan showed that my all of my sinus cavities and my nose are pretty much blocked with lots of scar tissue (from all the nose packing and the cauterizing), old blood, and some other nasty stuff.
The infections and inflammation are at a point, now, where I'm unable to pretend like it's not happening. My ENT and I have decided that it's something that needs to be addressed before it leads to more serious problems.
So, this Friday (July 17), I'll be having surgery to fix this. It is a risky procedure because they don't where I was bleeding from, and he'll be targeting areas around those arteries. I'll be under for 4 hours--the longest I've been sedated for a procedure--because he'll have to do things very slowly.
I am apprehensive. I won't have many people at the hospital to support me because of COVID, so it will be just Mark and I. As scary as this is for me, though, I trust my ENT completely. He's probably the best doctor I've ever had, so I know he's going to be as thorough and as careful as he can be.
Today, I decided to have a pedicure since I'll be out of commission for about 8 weeks. OF COURSE I had them painted teal. <3 They will be a comforting reminder for me, in the coming days and weeks as I figure out how to take care of myself (again! haha).
I'm not sure when I will be able to resume posting. The board, as always, has been so understanding and patient with me. And so have you all! It means the world to me that I have your support and encouragement--thank you for sharing that with me. Thank you for sharing this space with me. Thank you for helping me create ovarian cancer awareness.
In the meantime, I hope you'll stay safe and well. Please take care of yourselves and each other. Wear your masks. Check in on your friends--especially the ones that always check in on you. Practice some self-care every now and then. Remember that love is a verb, and that it's all you'll ever need.
Love and light,
Caroline H. Little Executive Director Teal Toes ... See MoreSee Less
Start A Conversation
How did the idea for Teal Toes start? With a real conversation in 2006 like the one below. We encourage you to start your own conversation: the information you share could quite literally save a life.
Scene: School bus stop, the week after Labor Day.
(Usual hellos, how’s the school year going, etc.)
Tori: Wow! New pedicure?
Carey: Yeah!
Susan: What color is that? Blue?
Carey: No, it’s teal. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and teal is the official awareness color.
Judy: Gorgeous. Ovarian cancer? Isn’t that what that new vaccine is for?
Carey: No, there’s nothing like that for OC. In fact, OC is often not diagnosed until the disease has progressed.
Tori: But I thought that is what we get an annual pap smear for!
Carey: Nope, pap smears test for other things. The symptoms of OC are often hard to see. They are:
Judy: I think a friend of mine’s mother had that. She just thought it was a tummy thing until it was too late. Why haven’t we heard more about this?
Carey: That’s why I painted my toes teal! So people would ask!
Susan: Who did them?
Carey: That new nail place over by the theater. They carry all the OPI colors, including this special teal.
Tori: Hey, let’s go tomorrow! Meet me there!
This “conversation” was compiled from the various conversations our founder Carey had at the bus stop, gym, yoga class, a bridal shower, and various other places one September after she had first painted her toes teal. By the end of that month, many other people had started painting their toes teal too, in solidarity and support, and Carey realized this could be a way for many people to start their own conversations.
Ovarian cancer symptoms are sometimes said to “whisper.” We have all become far more informed than we once were about breast cancer; now it’s time to extend this awareness to its “cousin,” ovarian cancer (the “breast cancer gene” can also trigger ovarian cancer).
Ideas for a “Teal Toes” campaign:
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Teal Toes
4 months ago
Hi friends! I had planned to do this post sooner, but life had some other plans. :)
Many of you know that I got very sick last summer last summer and had to miss a lot of planned events. I'd like to share with you all why, now.
I had an arterial rupture.
So, 3 of 4 of the main arteries in my head (that go to the brain) ruptured. Thankfully, I'd been in the hospital for bleeding prior to the rupture, and they were able to save me, but it was a very, very close call. All of my doctors have told me that if I lost half of the blood I lost during the rupture that I could not survive it again.
Since then, I've had several pints of blood and at least 3 iron infusions. Some days are better than others, but I noticed a few weeks after this happened that I was having sinus headaches and migraines FAR more than usual, and they were very debilitating. A CT scan showed that my all of my sinus cavities and my nose are pretty much blocked with lots of scar tissue (from all the nose packing and the cauterizing), old blood, and some other nasty stuff.
The infections and inflammation are at a point, now, where I'm unable to pretend like it's not happening. My ENT and I have decided that it's something that needs to be addressed before it leads to more serious problems.
So, this Friday (July 17), I'll be having surgery to fix this. It is a risky procedure because they don't where I was bleeding from, and he'll be targeting areas around those arteries. I'll be under for 4 hours--the longest I've been sedated for a procedure--because he'll have to do things very slowly.
I am apprehensive. I won't have many people at the hospital to support me because of COVID, so it will be just Mark and I.
As scary as this is for me, though, I trust my ENT completely. He's probably the best doctor I've ever had, so I know he's going to be as thorough and as careful as he can be.
Today, I decided to have a pedicure since I'll be out of commission for about 8 weeks. OF COURSE I had them painted teal. <3 They will be a comforting reminder for me, in the coming days and weeks as I figure out how to take care of myself (again! haha).
I'm not sure when I will be able to resume posting. The board, as always, has been so understanding and patient with me. And so have you all! It means the world to me that I have your support and encouragement--thank you for sharing that with me. Thank you for sharing this space with me. Thank you for helping me create ovarian cancer awareness.
In the meantime, I hope you'll stay safe and well. Please take care of yourselves and each other. Wear your masks. Check in on your friends--especially the ones that always check in on you. Practice some self-care every now and then. Remember that love is a verb, and that it's all you'll ever need.
Love and light,
Caroline H. Little
Executive Director
Teal Toes ... See MoreSee Less
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