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Robbin Kane ties a ribbon on a tree located on South State Street, Clarks Summit.
Abington Journal/ Gerard Hetman
ABINGTONS – During the month of September, residents may see Robbin Kane tying teal ribbons to trees throughout the area. Teal has been nationally recognized as the color for ovarian cancer support and awareness.
Kane said April 4, 2001, the day she was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer, is “seared” into her brain. She said the doctor’s words “blared through my brain again and again and again,” adding, “I had just been sentenced to death for a crime I did not commit and my future was bleak or rather non-existent.”
Kane said she loved her career in construction and the seaside community in New Jersey where she lived. “At 41, I was in the prime of my life.” Kane, 50, moved to Dalton in 2009, to be closer to her family.Kane was told the odds of reaching her 45th birthday were “few and far between.”
However, nearly ten years later, Kane has become an advocate for ovarian cancer awareness.
Four years ago she began tying teal ribbons to trees in Lavallette, N.J. She did this in September for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and since that time, she and her friends have been able to “paint 22 towns teal across the country.”
Additionally, she and her friends are working to assign a postage stamp for ovarian cancer awareness.
Kane said when she finishes her chemotherapy treatment, she will begin speaking about ovarian cancer at medical colleges.
After living with Stage IV ovarian cancer, Kane said she has learned many things.
“No matter how you feel, if you get up, get dressed, and pretend to feel better, you actually do. No matter how many times you lose your hair, you cry each time. No matter what, people will always tell a cancer patient that they look great. No matter what the statistics are, they are only statistics and I am a person defying those statistics. No matter what, the people who really love you will always be there for you… no matter what. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. No one knows what’s behind the door. I chose to believe the sun will shine, if not today, it will tomorrow.
“No matter what, life is good.”