This year’s Best Dressed Breast will have University students strutting down the catwalk at 7 p.m. Monday in the EMU Ballroom.
University Health Center staff first came up with the idea to hold the hour-long Breast Cancer Awareness Fashion Show in April to spread information about the disease that killed more than 40,200 women in the United States in 2001. About one in eight women are expected have breast cancer in their lifetime, University Health Center health educator Annie Dochnahl said.
Most of the models will be students from the Peer Heath Education office, as well as some volunteers.
“One of my main reasons for getting involved is my mom,” biology major Cass Skinner said. Her mother’s cancer is in remission, but she is undergoing chemotherapy because it spread to her lung, said Skinner, who is one of the four program organizers.
Although the free event is not a fundraiser, representatives from organizations including the American Cancer Society and Tobacco Free Lane County will be in the foyer taking donations and providing information. ACS will be working on its Look Good… Feel Better program with the Willamette Valley Cancer Center. The program provides wigs and cosmetics for women who have had or are undergoing chemotherapy. Cynthia’s Fine Lingerie will provide prosthetics for women who have had mastectomies.
In addition, Dochnahl said the show will delineates preventative behavior as well as offer current information on breast cancer.
“It is my belief that everyone will learn something of value,” Dochnahl said. She said preventative behavior includes limited alcohol intake and good nutrition and diet.
Risk increases with age, and women older than 40 should have yearly physicals and perform monthly breast self-exams.
People whose family members have developed the disease may also be at an increased risk.
Eugene office ACS community cancer control manager Kay Hilsenkopf said women should check carefully when doing a breast exam.
“It’s not just your breast — it’s a whole area,” Hilsenkopf said. “Although we say to check your breast, you also need to check the area around that.”
She said that area is a square-shaped region that encompasses the area beneath the collarbone, down to the waist and under the arm.
“You can also get (a lump) under your arm because that’s the closest lymph node to your breast,” she said.
To assess one’s risk, Hilsenkopf recommends visiting www.yourcancerrisk.harvard.edu or calling (800) ACS-2345.
Informational pamphlets will also be available at the fashion show.
In addition to learning about
the risks, attendees may also enjoy the clothes modeled by students and volunteers.
While designing her part of the program, Skinner had a unique plan for determining which retailers to feature in the show.
“I took an informal poll of what people wear on campus,” she said.
The retail stores who will be displaying their garments are Sweet Potato Pie, Buffalo Exchange Ltd., Folkways, Greater Goods, Recreational Equipment Inc. and Emporium Department Store.
Organizers say they feel satisfied with the show’s progress.
“It’s been a whirlwind of planning, but I think it’s coming together very nicely,” Dochnahl said.
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