ADAMS TWP - Julene Fabrizio of Adams Township became president of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition Nov. 18 after serving as president of the Pittsburgh division of the coalition for the past two years.

In her new position as spokeswoman for the NOCC, Fabrizio will travel throughout the United States during her two-year term attending conferences and fund-raising events, including promoting Walk for the Whisper. There are 10 Walks for the Whisper throughout the United States, two of which take place in Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh's walk in September drew 2,400 walkers, with 96 survivors participating. With the increased activity, "people are recognizing the words," Fabrizio said.

An ovarian cancer survivor, Fabrizio was diagnosed with Stage 1 in 1999 at 49 years old. The disease is classed in four stages, with one being the lowest severity. "Seventy-five percent of ovarian cancers are found in later stages where the prognosis is not good," Fabrizio said. "Each year 26,000 women will be diagnosed, and 16,000 will die. For those who are diagnosed in Stage 3 C, the most common, the survival rate is usually 3 to 5 years."

The goal of NOCC is to raise awareness and provide education on ovarian cancer. "The symptoms are usually vague and most of them mimic other types of diseases. They can be gastrointestinal," Fabrizio explained.

Like most people, she admitted she had "no idea what the words meant" when her physician shared the results of her pathology report. Unlike pap smears for cervical cancer, "there is no early detection tool for this disease," she said.

The NOCC has 60 divisions in the United States with its headqua,rters in Boca Raton, Fla. It was founded in 1996.