The annual butterfly release at the S.C. State House will take place September

20. It is sponsored by the Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Central SC to raise awareness of the deadly disease.

The event has been renamed the Cathy B. Novinger Ovarian Cancer Butterfly Release to honor the organization’s founder, who lost her life to the disease in 2016. September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Participants will release over 500 butterflies in memory or honor of a relative or friend who has been affected by ovarian cancer and other female-related cancers.

Each year more than 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and of those more than 14,000 will lose their lives. One in 71 women will develop some form of ovarian cancer in their lifetime.

Ovarian cancer is called “the disease that whispers,” because women may not recognize the symptoms that signal the onset. It is one of the deadliest cancers among women, often detected too late to be cured.

If detected early, ovarian cancer has a 95% five-year survival rate. The survival rate drops below 25% for five-year survival for those who are in stage 3 and 5% for those in stage 4. Ovarian cancer is never detected through pap smears.

Proceeds from the event help further the organization’s goal of educating women in the Midlands about ovarian cancer.

For information, or to purchase a butterfly, visit ovariancancermidlands.org or call 803-608-5391.