The Daily Gamecock 10/8/13

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dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

VOL. 113, NO. 33 • SINCE 1908

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

BREAST CANCER A W A R E N E S S M O N T H Disease has wide-reaching impact Sarah Ellis

SELLIS@DAILYGAMECOCK.COM

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re you reading this article in a lecture hall? While eating lunch in Russell House? Walk ing dow n Greene Street on the way to your next class? Look around you. Notice all the women. Now realize this: A n eighth of them will likely battle breast cancer in their lifetime. Chances are, you or someone you know have been or will be affected by the disease, which is expected to claim around 40,000 lives this year alone, according to the American Cancer Society. “It’s going to affect every collegeaged woman, whether she personally has breast cancer or she k nows someone who has breast cancer,” said Dr. Amanda Arrington, a board– certified surgical oncologist in the School of Medicine. “One in eight women, you know, if you look at a lecture hall with 50 women in it, it’s going to affect six women in that room directly, and everyone else indirectly because they know that woman.” Be your own advocate Arrington owes her career path to her grandmother’s experience with breast cancer. She remembers her father’s mother, Edna Arrington, as a stoic individual,

a hardworking country woman and single mother whose husband died young. Like most country folks, Arrington said, her grandmother rarely went to the doctor. It wasn’t until she was at the point of pain from a softball–sized tumor in her breast that she, with embarrassment, visited the family’s local doctor. Arrington said she was shocked, then, when the doctor told the family there were no treatment options for her. “It really did impact me when he said, ‘Oh, go get your affairs in order. You’re not going to survive,’” Arrington said. But there was treatment to be of fered at Wake Forest Bapt ist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C . A rring ton’s g ra ndmot her fought the disease for nine months before her death. Her grandmother’s battle with breast cancer taught A rring ton the importance of being your own advocate for your health, she said. A nd it inspired her to become a healthcare advocate for others in their own fights. “Sit t ing w it h her in her c hemot her ap y t re at ment s a nd

232,430 estimated new cases of invasive breast cancer in U.S. women to be diagnosed in 2013

39,620 U.S. women expected to die from breast cancer in 2013

2.9 million U.S. women with a history of breast cancer who were alive on Jan. 1, 2012

12.3% Lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer for American women (1 in 8 women)

34% Decrease in breast cancer death rates among U.S. women from 1990 to 2010

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C A N C E R is going to affect each and every one of us in some way, shape or form in our lives.” — DR. AMANDA ARRINGTON

89% 5-year relative survival rate for women diagnosed with breast cancer, based on the most recent data Source: American Cancer Society

UPCOMING EVENTS October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as Gamecocks, our philanthropy has — as they say — no limits. This past weekend the women’s club soccer team hosted a “Cocks Kick it for a Cure” game, in which players wore pink and collected money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. In addition, the Palmetto Health Foundation’s

23rd Annual Walk for Life/Race for Life was held at Finlay Park on Saturday. As for the rest of the month, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved and make a difference. Here are some awareness events happening on campus and in the community:

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From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, students can visit the Campus Wellness and Healthy Carolina table at the Healthy C a r o l i n a F a r m e r ’s Market to learn about breast cancer screening and prevention.

Lexington Medical Center is holding its annual Women’s Night Out event o n O c t . 15 a t t h e Columbia Metropolitan C o nve nti o n C e nte r. Women will have the oppor tunit y to meet LMC physicians, as well as bid on items at a silent auction and have dinner.

The Palmetto Health Mobile Mammography Unit will be on Greene Street from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 offering screenings to those who register ahead of time. Call the Campus Wellness office a t 8 0 3 -777- 6 518 to determine your eligibility and register.

ALL MONTH

ALL MONTH

Throughout the entire month, Smashburger, located on Devine Street, is donating 40 cents from ever y Haagen Dazs ice cream and Raspberry Sorbet Shake to the Susan G. Komen foundation. A minimum donation of $25,000 will be donated to the organization.

B u b b l e Te a C a f é , located on Pendleton S t r e e t, i s d o n a t i n g one dollar from each Guavaberry Gulp to the Alala Cancer Society’s “Kick Cancer Where it Hur ts” campaign. T– shirts benefiting Alala will also be available for purchase.

INSIDE

— Compiled by Sarah Martin

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SPORTS

MIX

VIEWPOINTS

The South Carolina women’s soccer team won two away overtime games over the weekend.

Preview the food and fun before hitting the annual South Carolina State Fair.

Editorial Board: Mary Beth Tinker sets an inspiring example for students and journalists alike.

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WEATHER Tuesday

Wednesday

High 65° Low 57°

High 68° Low 57°


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