MSU, Local Communities to ‘Paint the Campus Pink’ in Early October

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Press Release) — Mississippi State’s health education and wellness department is sponsoring its first “Paint the Campus Pink” breast cancer awareness event early next month.

Open to the public, the family-friendly series of activities Oct. 7 begin at 10 a.m. in front of the university’s Colvard Student Union.

Free breast health and cancer prevention information–including proper nutrition, exercise and self-exam tips–will be available until 3 p.m. at various educational stations. A lunchtime Zumba demonstration class, bra pong and Fun PINK Dawg Walk are among other highlights.

American Cancer Society representative Bethany Cooper also will be on hand to discuss survivorship, advocacy and volunteer opportunities.

Free pink lemonade, cookies, popcorn and breast cancer awareness stickers, as well as door prizes, will be available.

From 5:30-7 p.m., the Fun PINK Dawg Walk will take place on the mile-long Chadwick Lake walking track. In addition to free t-shirts awarded to the first 300 people who complete the walk, prizes will be awarded to individuals and groups deemed the most creatively attired in pink.

Walk T-shirts and prizes are being provided by Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus.

Members of the university community are encouraged to show their support throughout the day by wearing pink, and individual departments will be displaying pink door decorations.

Joining MSU’s health education and wellness and recreational sports departments and the American Cancer Society as “Paint” co-sponsors are the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, Gentiva Home Health & Hospice and the Columbus-based Sqwincher sports drink company.

“Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer,” said JuLeigh Baker. “About 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2014.”

Baker, MSU’s campus health and wellness educator, emphasized that, while more prevalent among women, breast cancer also affects men.

“The American Cancer Society estimates 2,360 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in the United States, and roughly 430 men will die from the disease this year,” she said. For that reason, a male-specific fact sheet and other general breast cancer information will be available, she added.

Beyond helping women and men of all ages learn more about dangers associated with breast cancer and ways to lower their risks, Baker said this new event has been designed to give campus and local communities a way to “show a united front of support to those whose lives are affected by breast cancer.

“Many students may have parents, siblings, friends, or co-workers who may be diagnosed with breast cancer, so the information we provide will teach them how to help their loved one as well as personally cope with the stress of such life-changing news,” Baker said.

For more information, contact Baker at 662-325-2141 or jbaker@saffairs.msstate.edu.

Visit www.health.msstate.edu/health/ to learn more about the health education and wellness department.

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