October is the month for costumes, candy and scary monsters. But it’s also the month to be aware of something more serious – breast cancer.October is the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the NBCAM organization will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.The University’s Athletic Department and University Recreation have partnered to host Breast Cancer Awareness events on campus this month.The “Pink Ribbon Run” ceremony at the University Student Recreational Complex on Tuesday, Sept. 29, kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness month by premiering the CYBEX pink treadmill. CYBEX will donate 10 cents to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for every mile logged on the pink treadmill this month. The UREC is the only recreational center in Louisiana with the pink CYBEX treadmill.K.C. White, dean of students and interim vice chancellor of Student Life was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2009, was the first to run on the treadmill.”I’m very humbled by the number of people who’ve been supportive of my diagnosis,” White said. “I want to bring awareness to it, but it’s not about me, it’s a bigger picture.”As of this Friday, White will undergo the final round of chemotherapy after 24 weeks. She will start radiation in four to six weeks for the cancer which spread to her lymph nodes and sternum.White said it’s important to spread breast cancer awareness to younger generations in order to promote healthy lifestyles.”If you’re healthy enough, cancer doesn’t need to stop you from doing what you need to do,” she said.White will also lead the 1-mile “Victory Walk” on Oct. 16, which will be part of the “Dig for the Cure” volleyball match against the University of Arkansas. Participants will donate a minimum of $10 to participate in the “Victory Walk” where they will walk from the UREC, down Victory Hill and to the PMAC for the volleyball game. All proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization’s Baton Rouge affiliate.LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory said this is the third year the volleyball team has participated in the “Dig for the Cure,” which is part of the Side-Out Foundation founded by retired and active volleyball coaches dedicated to fighting cancer.Flory said the volleyball team wants to raise $3,000 through donations, and so far they have only raised $150.”It’s an effort to bring awareness and certainly to try to help generate funding so that in the future we aren’t fighting this battle,” Flory said.Leah Stevens, Zeta Tau Alpha president and psychology senior, said Zeta members handed out pink ribbons at the Saints game Sunday and will hand out pink ribbons and breast exam shower cards in Free Speech Alley this week for their breast cancer awareness philanthropy.Stevens said Zeta will also host Pinktoberfest, a yogurt-eating contest to collect Yoplait Yogurt lids to help with Yoplait’s breast cancer campaign, at the Zeta house Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. She said they will collect Yoplait lids through December.An estimated 192,370 women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. this year, and an estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society’s “Cancer Facts and Figures 2009.”Kathy Saichuk, Wellness Education coordinator, said spreading breast cancer awareness on college campuses is important to educate students about the breast exams and early detection, which increase the chance of breast cancer survival.Saichuk said the behaviors of today’s college-aged female generation, such as smoking and drinking, could increase the chance of developing breast cancer.——Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]