When Senior Claire Hugo’s mother survived breast cancer after a long stay in the hospital, Hugo said she knew she wanted to be involved with breast cancer awareness.
On Monday night, about two years after her mother was diagnosed with the disease, Hugo participated as a model in the “Best Dressed Breast” fashion show to help others learn more about the disease.
“It’s a cause that I wanted to participate in,” she said.
The show, which was held in honor of breast cancer awareness month, drew a crowd of more than 300 students and community members to the EMU Ballroom.
“We’re trying to educate women about the risks that they can control in order to prevent breast cancer,” University Health Center health educator Annie Dochnahl said.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women next to skin cancer. In 2002, about 203,500 women and 1,500 men in the United States developed breast cancer. About 39,600 women and 400 men die each year of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer increases with age — about 77 percent of women with the disease were 50 years or older at the time of diagnosis. But young women are still at risk and can start taking steps early to prevent their risk of getting the disease when they are older.
“A lot of people don’t realize at this age that they’re vulnerable to cancer,” peer health educator Ursula Evans said.
Peer health educator Danielle Chiacco hosted the show, which featured about 10 models wearing clothes donated by various local merchants.
“We hope that as a result of the show you will be motivated to reduce risk factors,” Chiacco told the audience, which included numerous sororities, at the opening of the show.
As models sauntered, strutted and did cartwheels down the runway, they wore clothing with different themes that made a statement about ways to prevent breast cancer.
One model wearing athletic clothing from SportHill walked down the runway as Chiacco explained that women who are physically active for one to three hours a week reduce their risk of getting breast cancer by 30 percent.
Another model wore an elegant red blouse and a flowing black skirt from Greater Goods. Chiacco pointed out the woman’s Chinese ethnicity, saying that Asian women are less likely to get the disease, probably because of their low-fat diets.
The only male model at the show strutted out on the runway wearing Nordic warm-up pants and a beanie from REI.
Chiacco said that although breast cancer is rare among men, they still feel the impact of the disease when women in their lives are diagnosed.
“Men are obviously affected by breast cancer,” Chiacco said.
Every model who participated in the show knew someone who had had breast cancer.
As audience members flooded out of the EMU Ballroom, they had the opportunity to pick up information pamphlets and speak with representatives from the ASUO Women’s Center, the University Health Center and La Leche League, an international non-profit organization that promotes breast feeding as a means of reducing cancer risk.
Sophomore and Kappa Kappa Gamma member Marcela Arredondo said she came to support her friend, who modeled for the show, as well as learn more about the disease.
“It’s something that’s really interesting to watch, and it’s really informative,” she said. “It depends on how the information is presented to you whether you’re going to relate to it and understand it.”