When Elizabeth Edwards announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer on Nov. 3, she became one of the 215,990 U.S. women who the American Cancer Society (ACS) predicts will be diagnosed with the disease in 2004.
Luckily, the vast majority of college-age women will not find themselves in Edwards' shoes any time soon.
"I do not think of getting breast cancer as an issue that concerns me right now," junior Elaina Mercedes said. "I feel it is a disease that affects older women."
Mercedes' "feeling" is correct: according to the ACS, approximately 80 percent of breast cancer occurs in women older than 50. But though they may not be concerned they'll be diagnosed with breast cancer at this point in their lives, many college students are still concerned with promoting awareness of the disease - sometimes in very interesting ways.
For example, Illinois State University's (ISU) chapter of Delta Chi, a fraternity, recently created and started selling a calendar called "The Pink Ribbon" that features photos of ISU sorority girls. Money raised from sales of the calendars (they go for $10 each) goes to organizations doing breast cancer research.
A less risqu?© way of raising funds for breast cancer awareness on the college level was implemented by Tufts graduate Vanessa Brewster (LA '03), a clothing designer and small business owner.
"In June, I carried out a fundraiser I had planned and coordinated with the ZTA sorority at the University of Washington," said Brewster, who is based in Seattle. "The members of ZTA volunteer and raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, and I had contacted them earlier that spring about creating a trunk show and fashion fundraiser for their cause."
"Since I normally pay a fee to the organizers of a festival, I thought it would be great if instead those proceeds went to a good cause," she said. "It was held in the ZTA house with about 100 guests, with a fashion show followed by a sale. It was only two-hours long, but the sisters helped out with set up and sales."
"It was a lot of fun, and ended up making money for the Foundation at the same time," Brewster added.
Brewster created many of the designs exclusively for ZTA, with pink ribbon details highlighting the theme of breast cancer awareness, and she's planning similar fundraisers for groups all over Washington.
Current Tufts students have also taken steps to promote awareness of the disease: last month, the University's Pan Hellenic council raised more than $2,000 through its involvement in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Boston.
"I am extremely concerned about this issue - breast cancer is a frightening topic," junior Julie Rapaport said. "I attended the Breast Cancer Walk with my sorority Chi Omega, representing the Pan Hellenic System."
"Working with the Pan Hellenic organization, we were able to bring 50 to 60 girls," said Jillian Hochstrasser, adding, "I'm not incredibly concerned with getting breast cancer, but I do worry about it. I go to health services for a yearly check up - I am given a breast exam. I feel that those concerned about it have several points of resource they can contact."
Peggy Barrett, director of the Women's Center at Tufts, said that though the center presents topics about women's issues, breast cancer is not an issue that is stressed.
"We usually do programs when students request them," Barrett said. "Next semester, we'll be doing a breast cancer program with Alpha Omicron Pi."
Not all students are receptive to such programs, however. After all, most college women have three decades to go before they're at an increased risk. Accordingly, mammograms, the recommended breast cancer screening tests, are very rarely administered to women of college age.
The services of Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's newly launched mobile Mammography Van, for example, are only offered to women older than 40 (and older than 35 if they have a family history of the disease).
"The reason many young ladies are not that concerned with this issue is because [they'll] think about it when they are older, not in their 20s," Barrett said.
Junior Carolyn Davis's opinion corroborates Barrett's assertion. "At this point in young women's lives, it would be hard to have us take precautions for a disease that we don't have to worry about now," Davis said.
Some students cite different reasons for their current lack of concern. "I just never saw it as a disease that affects me, as a black woman," said Mercedes - even though African American women, in fact, are more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
And those calendar-selling Delta Chi brothers are apparently an anomaly - male students have even less incentive to take precautions now. The ACS states that breast cancer is approximately 100 times more common in women than men.
