SGA goes pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Editor's note: Nchiewe Ani is also an employee of Central Michigan Life. That did not impact the reporting in this article.
Scattered rows of pink could be spotted among the Bovee University Center Auditorium seats on Monday night, as the Central Michigan University Student Government Association participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The cabinet members wore pink business attire and displayed a pink, "Faith, Hope, Believe" sign at the podium, as Vice President Aashka Barot introduced all of the guest speakers and discussed various aspects of breast cancer.
The event was held in partnership with registered student organizations, such as the International Student Organization (ISO), the Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) sorority, and global non-profits including the Pink Africa Foundation (PAF) and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz said SGA partnered with these groups in order to spread awareness of the disease amongst all students, not just women.
"This is a huge issue that affects everyone," she said. "We have so many RSOs and knowledgable people on campus. ... We wanted this to be a safe space for students to learn about it, because it doesn't get talked about enough."
The guest speakers shared some important common facts about breast cancer such as:
- 1 in 8 women will develop the cancer
- In the United States, over 40,000 women and 500 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year
- Risk factors, such as genetic history, obesity and reaching menopause
- Prevention methods, such as exercising, reducing drinking and smoking and breastfeeding
The students were also encouraged to take "The Breast Pledge," in which they raised their right hands and swore they would examine their breasts monthly, because "A healthy breast makes a healthy me, so help me God!"
Alina Joseph, the president of ISO, said she came to speak on the topic due to her personal connection to it. As a medical doctor, she said she worked in a cancer hospital for 3 years and saw people suffering from stages 3 and 4 breast cancer, including men.
"It is really hard to see how mentally it drains them out," she said. "Physically it drains them out. ... You don't feel it, but then all of a sudden you're sick. All of a sudden you are in the hospital and somebody comes and tells you 'Hey, you have cancer,' and that you are in the third stage. That's it."
Joseph educated audience members on the common physical signs of breast cancer development, such as:
- Lumps and hard knots in the breast or underarm area
- Swelling, warmth and redness
- Dimpling or puckering of skin
- Itchy or scaly nipples
- Nipple discharge
- New pain in one spot that doesn't go away
She also stressed the importance of sharing breast cancer information with others, as she said it could save a life.
"What we are hearing in this room today, it should spread out," Joseph said. "It should go out of the room out. It should go into the campus, to the dorms, to your houses, to your families. Everybody."
Additionally, Nchiewe Ani, a medical doctor, consultant radiologist and the founder of PAF, gave a humorous, live demonstration on how to examine your own breasts for lumps and signs of disease.
Audience members giggled as she encouraged them to stand up and check above their clothes, placing their arms behind their head and examining all the sections where breast cancer commonly begins: The four "quadrants," of the breast, the nipple, under the armpits and along the clavicle, or neck.
"This is no laughing matter," she said. "I'm doing this so you are engaged and remember it ... because it is nothing to be embarrassed about."
After the live demonstration, Ani encouraged audience members to do self-checks once every month. For women under 40 years old, she encouraged them to check 10 days after their menstruation cycle ends. For men and women above 40, she said they should check at the first of every month.
She also stressed that self-checks don't replace a doctor, and said students should still go in for breast screenings, Papanicolaou (PAP) smears and prostate exams once a year, especially if they have a family history of those cancers.
"Breast cancer is real," Ani said. "We like to tell real stories to save one life. When you save the life of one woman, you have saved an entire community."
In Other Events:
- Lee Parker, the Instruction and Outreach Librarian of CMU Libraries, came to talk about their resources, such as collections and study spaces. He also gave students surveys to fill out, asking whether they were aware of these resources or how the resources could be improved.
- Barot said starting next week, students will be assigned to their committees. She said due to some committees having high turnouts and others with lower turnouts, SGA members would be "distributed" into the committees so that it was more equal. She said if anyone was unhappy with their assignment come next Monday, they could speak with her or Hernandez Ruiz.
- Barot also talked about the SGA Blood Drive happening on Wednesday. She said so far, only 4 people had signed up for it and encouraged more students to sign up if they are interested and available.
