On October 13, 2016 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Alcorn State University held a Breast Cancer Awareness Event at the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex. The event was also sponsored by the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation in collaboration with the Alcorn State University Extension Program’s (ASUEP) Health and Wellness Program.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) was founded in October 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the Pharmaceutical Division of Imperial Chemical Industries. The NBCAM’s primary function is to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.
Alcorn began its NBCAM activites at the Whitney Complex from 9:00 am – 11:30 am where tables were set up with different vendors with information about Breast Cancer, Suicide Prevention and Health. Linda Campbell, a member of the Southwest Mississippi Mental Health Complex stated, “Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a wonderful obligation to women and it really makes women aware of how serious the disease is.”
From 11:30 am – 1:00 pm the vendors and participants moved from inside of the Whitney Complex to the outside where Barbeque and refreshments were served. Alumnus Dana Jones, who attended the event, stated, “If a woman finds out about the disease early enough it is 95 percent curable. That’s why I recommend for every woman, regardless of age, to get a yearly mammogram.”
For more information about this event or upcoming events, contact Casaundra Williams Thompson, Coordinator, at (601) 877-6507 or cthomp@alcorn.edu or Racquel Knox, Coordinator, at (601) 437-5011 or rknox@alcorn.edu.
(Special contributions were provided to this story by Brianna Walker)