Bring your own or rent a kayak, standup paddleboard, canoe—any nonmotorized watercraft—and join us for a fun paddle to raise awareness and research funding for low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023
Schedule

• 12:30 pm: Sign in at the Community Boating Center at 555 Harris Ave, Bellingham. Pick up a teal T-shirt and flag.
• 1 pm: Launch from the Fairhaven boat ramp.
• 1-3 pm: Paddle along the shore of Bellingham Bay. Gather in flotillas. Take pictures. Wave a flag. Have fun.
• 3-5 pm: Grab a drink and a snack and win door prizes at Skylark’s Hidden Cafe.

Ride the Teal Wave is part of STAAR Ovarian Cancer Foundation's Step Up America for Ovarian Cancer campaign. Donations support research for effective treatments to improve the outcomes for people who have low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

LGSOC is a rarer subtype that tends to affect younger people than other types of ovarian cancer, with an average age at diagnosis of 45. It has a high rate of recurrence, few effective treatments, and unlike other types of cancers, does not receive federal research funding. Last year, STAAR raised funds to award $76,000 to the University of Texas MD Anderson research into Trametinib resistance, and $250,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering to research which patients are more likely to respond to chemotherapy.

The MSK study is particularly meaningful to Ride the Teal Wave organizer and STAAR Vice Chair Kari Neumeyer, who was diagnosed with LGSOC at the age of 44. Kari underwent three chemotherapy treatments before discovering that her cancer was resistant to the drugs. This research could help other people avoid unnecessary chemotherapy.

Fortunately, Kari has been cancer free following a successful surgery in June 2020 and is excited to Ride the Teal Wave again on Sept. 3 for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. We'd love to see you there, and if you can't be there in person, we'd appreciate your donation in support of research that could save lives.