Cancer.
It’s something that has affected many American families. From adolescence to adulthood, trauma from this disease can last a lifetime. It can not only affect the individual, but the people within their lives. It can create emotional scars, but can also bring families closer together. Cancer can come in all shapes and sizes.
One of the most prominent forms of cancer is breast cancer. 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer, and the survival rate is 90%. Depending on the type of breast cancer, surgeries can range from lumpectomy, which is the removal of tissue in and around the tumor, to a mastectomy, which is the total removal of the breast. After the surgery, many women receive chemotherapy, in which drugs or medicines are used to treat the cancer.
The treatment of of breast cancer can be quite stressful, and patients need all the support they can get. That’s where Breast Cancer Awareness month plays a role. It is a month dedicated to supporting and celebrating patients and survivors of breast cancer. It helps raise money for research into the causes and treatments as well. There is even a club dedicated to raising money, called Team Pink Plus.
Senior Becca Gutierrez explained what Team Pink Plus does for Poly
“So Team Pink+ is a cancer awareness club on campus,” Gutierrez said. “For the month of October (Breast cancer awareness month) we focused raising money for breast cancer, specifically for The Young Survivor Coalition. They are an organization that helps and supports women who are battling breast cancer and are under the age of 40. We fundraised through selling spirit packs at the breast cancer game, holding a silent auction for tickets to the We Can Survive concert and USC tickets, and most recently a Pie Your Teacher in the Face Rally. We raised over $1000 in October alone through these events and we plan on continuing to do the same through the end of the year!”