October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and for the next couple weeks, the girls will table as a part of Breast Cancer Outreach (BCO) three days a week hoping to raise the on-campus visibility of their favorite cause. Besides a large donation cup, their table also sells T-shirts printed with the phrases “Think Pink” and “Save Second Base.”

This year the Georgetown organization is shaking things up a bit. In the past, BCO has devoted much of its energy in fundraising and has been very successful, raising more and more money each year.

“The focus is changing,” Julia Leis (SFS ’07), who serves as a liaison between BCO and the Georgetown University Hospital, said. “We’re trying to do more outreach.”

BCO treasurer Brittany Baumann (COL ’08) agreed. “[The organization] is becoming more meaningful, and we’re doing a lot more on campus,” she said.

Expanding Support

According to Leis, BCO was just “getting on its feet” when she signed up at the SAC Fair her freshman year. While its presence on campus has been changing, overall the group has been expanding.

“Every year it has gotten bigger and better,” she said. “This year, we are really pushing for outreach.”

Since the start of the club, BCO has made annual donations to the Lombardi Cancer Center. This year, its goal is $5,000 — an amount the board unanimously agrees is attainable.

In addition to its close relationship with Lombardi, BCO is reaching out beyond the Healy Gates to other care centers, namely the Capital Breast Care Center in Southeast Washington, D.C. The donation will help the center buy new gowns for the patients.

According to National Institute of Health Washington, D.C., has one of the highest incidence rates of breast cancer in the country, as well as a high poverty rate. The Capital Breast Care Center is specifically designed for underprivileged patients who cannot afford to get mammograms and other diagnostic tests that they would normally get at a better-funded institution like the Lombardi Center.

“I come from a town much like the Georgetown area and I didn’t have much experience with people who don’t have health care,” marketing chair Sarah Alexander (COL ’09) said. “I’m learning a lot.”

Reaching out to the CBCC is just one step in the club’s efforts to expand beyond the Georgetown area into the wider D.C. community.

“Every club on campus should invest more in the D.C. community,” Leis said. “We need to encourage members to go out into the community more and have a better idea of things like the healthcare situation in D.C.”

The club is also planning to expand on its annual Girls’ Night In event in April — an evening for Georgetown students full of raffles, manicures, massages and, of course, the color pink. BCO is also diversifying its events through collaborations with other groups both on and off campus. The board members are planning to volunteer at an auction benefiting the Lombardi Center on Oct. 28. Another plan in the works involves a possible private night event at the new Ralph Lauren Rugby store.

“Not only are we branching out, but people are also coming to us,” Alexander said.

Men Love Breasts, Right?

One glaring point stood out at the general meeting on the 27th — there was not a single guy in sight.

“A few guys signed up [at SAC Fair], but none of them came to our meetings,” BCO co-President Kim Benton (NHS ’08) said. “We want to reach out to that population.”

While it is much less publicized and much less prevalent, breast cancer does occur in men, since both genders have the same breast tissue. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 41,430 people with breast cancer in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease this year. Of them, 460 will be men.

Breast cancer in both men and women is essentially the same from a medical perspective. But because there is a perception that breast cancer is a “woman’s disease,” men generally are not as keenly aware of the possibility of developing the disease and are less likely to act when confronted with the symptoms. As stated on the American Cancer Society’s website, this tardiness in diagnosing the disease may be the reason that the survival rate for women is higher than the survival rate for men.

To combat these statistics and to involve more men in the group, the Breast Cancer Outreach is teaming up with Hoya Blue, a group of mostly male students, for a seven-on-seven coed soccer tournament. This event will be held after the women’s soccer home game against Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Inner Strength

Another focus for the group this year is inward as well as outward.

They’re hoping to inform more students about the dangers and methods for early detection. “But in order to do that, we need to have more active members,” Benton said.

Efforts are being made to more fully educate the members in the medical aspects of the disease. The board members are planning to bring in speakers and nurse practitioners from Lombardi to speak more about the processes a patient must go through.

In addition, Leis said that opportunities for the members to do genetic counseling will be made available, in order for them to understand personal risk or the risk for other family members. It can also help them learn what testing, surveillance, prevention strategies, or research trials may be right for their situation.

“A lot of girls are affected by this disease more than they realize,” she said. According to the National Institute of Health, one in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

“When we have more people that are involved, we’ll have more people who will go out and spread awareness,” Benton said.

Spreading Awareness

While the increased number and diversity in the events planned for this year signal a growth in the group’s efforts, Benton noted that it is more difficult than it seems to actually carry out the “outreach” part. “It’s easy to raise money, to get people to buy T-shirts or come for a big raffle,” she said. “It’s harder to get them to want to learn. They come to buy a T-shirt, but they don’t pick up a pamphlet. It’s much harder to do the awareness aspect.”

Leis and Alexander both echoed her opinion that while most people they encounter are receptive to idea of contributing to breast cancer awareness, prevention and treatment efforts, many people fail to take the issue seriously or become truly informed on the disease themselves.

What the Future Holds

Despite such challenges, the group is still continuing forward in its evolution, according to Leis.

“In a few years, there will be a really good balance between fundraising, outreach and education,” she said. “In terms of this movement, the Georgetown community is phenomenally supportive. Every group we approach, whether it be Hoya Blue or GUGS, is extraordinarily supportive. That kind of solidarity with our cause makes the purpose much more fluid and effective.”

The girls of BCO hope to make their presence felt in more than just Leavey.

“We can only grow bigger from here,” said Alexander.