Walk with Warriors for Breast Cancer Awareness

By Eric Kump
SC Staff Artist

The Pink Light Walk will begin today at 6:00 PM in the Keystone Room, located across from the University Center, and will end at The Hughes Cancer Center, 181 East Brown Street. Information desks will be open at 5:30 PM within the Keystone Room.

This will be the fourteenth annual Pink Light Walk to raise awareness of breast cancer.

After the walk, participants can enjoy complimentary refreshments, raffles, and information on how to spot early signs of breast cancer.

The idea behind the Pink Light Walk is to show that the survivors and doctors are still moving forward against breast cancer.

To symbolically show moving forward, the survivors are the first to lead the walk to the Hughes Cancer Center.

The walk is hosted every year by people in the ESU community.

Included in this group are students, survivors, members of the area, and the American Cancer Society.

The Pink Light Walk is held every October, due to it being breast cancer awareness month.

Breast cancer awareness month started in 1985 with the American Cancer Society and Imperial Chemical Industries, a company that worked on medication for breast cancer.

Breast cancer awareness month has spread to an international level, and has helped create many other ways for a company, school, or society to partake in introducing the color pink.

One organization that helps raise awareness is the NFL. The NFL requests players from all teams wear pink cleats, gloves, and wristbands during the month of October.

As an organization, the NFL raised $3 million for the fight against breast cancer in the last year.

Other businesses and organizations get involved as well. Some ask their employees to wear pink and make donations.

Another activity held for breast cancer awareness is Global Pink Hijab Day.

As stated by carecyclesolutions.net, it is a day during which some Muslim communities wear pink headscarves or kufis to show that they too support the fight.

As stated by carecyclesolutions.net, “The original idea behind breast cancer awareness was to raise the need for a mammography as the most effective weapon against cancer.”

According to mammographysaveslives.org, the number of people lost to breast cancer has decreased by one third since 1990.

Lucia Kump, a breast cancer survivor, said, “The Pink Light Walk is one of the best things to partake in. It brings together a community of people who have all experienced the same thing and introduces others for a more firsthand experience as to what is expected.”

This walk is not the only opportunity one has to show support for the fight against breast cancer. For more information on breast cancer awareness, go to cancer.org.

For more information on the Pink Light Walk at ESU, call (570) 422-1700.

Email Eric at:
ekump@live.esu.edu