[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE 9TH ANNUAL KALEIDOSCOPE OF HOPE WALK-A-THON

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2008

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues 
to join with me in paying tribute to 9th Annual Kaleidoscope of Hope 
Foundation's Walk-a-thon, which would not be possible without the hard 
work of Gail MacNeil, a wonderful woman who truly made her mark as a 
dynamic advocate on behalf of ovarian cancer. On Sunday, September 14, 
2008, the good citizens of Morris County will take part in the 
Kaleidoscope of Hope's 9th Annual Walk-a-thon at Loantaka Brook 
Reservation.
  Gail was diagnosed with Stage IIIC ovarian cancer over Christmas 
1997. Sadly, her cancer recurred in 2002 and from then on she was on 
non-stop chemotherapy until she ultimately lost her brave battle on 
June 21, 2008. She was an amazing life force who continued to work full 
time as a realtor at Coldwell Banker as well as actively lead many 
initiatives at Kaleidoscope of Hope. She was an inspiration to all that 
knew and worked with her, her family and especially to all the cancer 
survivors and other families whose lives she so passionately touched 
over the past ten years. ``
  In 2000, Gail co-founded the Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation along 
with two other ovarian cancer survivors, Lois Myers and Patricia 
Stewart-Busso. The mission of Kaleidoscope of Hope was to raise 
awareness of ovarian cancer. Gail, Patty and Lois realized that there 
was a critical and urgent need for more awareness and research to find 
an early detection test for ovarian cancer, especially in New Jersey, 
which has the third highest incidence of ovarian cancer in the nation.
  In her role as a co-founder, Gail helped enhance research programs 
and supported the state's first four year Gynecology Oncology Fellow, 
based at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Last year, Gail initiated 
the successful ``Turn The Towns Teal'' campaign which was the first 
major awareness effort for KOH. At first, this started as a grass-roots 
teal ribbon tying event in Morris County, New Jersey, however, word 
quickly spread and people throughout the state joined in and turned 
their towns teal. Gail also shared her story as part of the Survivors 
Teaching Students program through the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.
  Madam Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the citizens of the 11th Congressional District of New 
Jersey and the Kaleidoscope of Hope's Walk-a-thon participants for 
their efforts to raise awareness for ovarian cancer, and in so doing, 
celebrating the life of a fine woman and leader.

                          ____________________