Photo Illustration by Mariana Herrera Mosli

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 211,000 women per year in the U.S. learn that they have breast cancer.

This year a team of 18 University of Tampa students will participate in the Tampa Bay Breast Cancer 3-Day, 60-mile walk to promote awareness of the disease.

The opening ceremony of the 3-Day walk will begin at 6 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30 at Sand Key Park in Clearwater and will end at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1 in St. Petersburg. This walk is only one of multiple walks happening all over the country.

Each participant is required  to raise $2,300. Meals and medical services are provided during the walk.
If someone doesn’t reach the amount, they are allowed to pay the owed amount with a personal credit card.

They are then given a month to secure the remaining funds through continued fundraising efforts.
Not only is fundraising necessary, but so is physical training to prepare the body for a 60-mile walk.

Sarah Bernstein, president of Alpha Chi Omega, was exposed to the 3-day walk at the closing ceremonies a few years ago. This year she will lead the UT team as captain.

Bernstein has had family and friends who have been affected by the disease and wants to continue to educate The University of Tampa campus.

Bernstein believes that showing students that it is possible to raise $2,300 for a cause as a student is important.

“Having them do that work is going to change their life,” Bernstein said. “It’s really moving.”

Memories of the previous year’s participants flooded her mind. She recalled someone participing in a wheelchair for the eighth year in a row.

Another man, with a backpack and a picture of his wife who he had trained with for the walk passed away due to breast cancer only a few days before the event.

Those are the strong memories she has of her previous years and this year Bernstein, a UT senior, is honored to carry a flag saying, “Best Friends.”

This will be the last time Bernstein will participate in the event as a UT student as she will graduate in December.

“I’m hoping that I made an impact in my time here,” Bernstein said.

Like Bernstein, Ashley Dignam’s first experiences with the 3-day walk were also at the closing ceremonies.

“Even if you aren’t personally affected by breast cancer it is a cause to support,” Dignam said.

This year she will be walking with the team and throughout the whole experience has learned about more people having the disease.

For Student Government president and member of Alpha Chi Omega, Kelsie Huth will be participating in the walk for the first time.

“I’m honored to be a part of the cause,” Huth said.

Her number one goal is to raise the money but she said she was ramping up her workout regiment to prepare for the walk.

To date (Oct. 6), Huth has raised $1,700. The team has raised over $33,000 total.

“It’s really touching,” Huth said. “Everyone has some type of connection to the cause.”

Huth also believes the event brings out the good in people and to see the good coming out in people is needed sometimes.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Huth said.

“I’m going to learn a lot of things along the way. It will be a challenge for sure but it will be a positive experience.”

Breast Cancer Awareness Guide

The No. 1 Habit That Lowers Your Risk.

Exercise. “We think that physical activity reduces your risk by lowering levels of estrogen and other hormones, in large part by reducing body fat,” McTiernan says. You don’t have to sweat it out for hours on end to reap the benefit:
A landmark study involving more than 74,000 women found that those who walked briskly for an hour and a half to two and a half hours weekly cut their risk of breast cancer by 18 percent.

Staying active can also help you maintain a healthy weight, which lowers your risk of the disease. One study found that women who gained 21 to 30 pounds after age 18 had a 40 percent higher risk, compared with women who kept their weight within 5 pounds.

If you do see the number on the scale creep up, bringing it down can be protective: Data from the ongoing Nurses’ Health study found that women who shed 22 pounds after menopause reduced their risk by 57 percent.

What Really Affects Your Cancer Risk:

Myths and misinformation are rampant when it comes to risk factors and causes of breast cancer. Here’s what you need to be concerned about and what you don’t.

Is it true that …

…wearing antiperspirants and underwire bras can lead to breast cancer?

No. Several studies have found no link between these products and breast cancer risk, says Dr. Victoria Seewaldt, director of the breast cancer prevention program at Duke University.

One theory was that using antiperspirants or wearing certain types of bras would impede lymphatic flow through the breast, causing cancer-causing toxins to build up, but that’s just not true, says Dr. Virginia Kaklamani, assistant professor of oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

…you’re destined to get the disease if you have a family history of it?

No. “Most people who have a mother who developed breast cancer after menopause only have a modest increase in risk compared to the general population,” says Dr. Claudine Isaacs, clinical director of the breast cancer program at the Georgetown University Medical Center.

Plus, there’s a difference between having a family history of the disease and having a genetic predisposition.

If a close relative is diagnosed with the disease (including on your father’s side), you have a family history.

Carrying a mutation in one of the so-called breast cancer genes BRCA I or II indicates a genetic predisposition, which raises your lifetime risk of developing the disease 40 to 80 percent, Isaacs explains.

That may sound high, but it still doesn’t mean you will definitely get breast cancer, Isaacs says.

“There are many lifestyle factors that come into play, including whether you exercise and are at a healthy weight, that can mitigate your risk,” she says.

Plus, if you have a BRCA I or II mutation, you can take measures to lower your odds. For example, removing the ovaries before menopause reduces breast cancer risk by 50 percent.

That’s why it’s important to discuss your family history — and your options — with your doctor.

…having more than one drink daily increases your risk?

Yes. Women who have two to five drinks daily increase their breast cancer risk 50 percent compared to those who abstain from alcohol, according to the American Cancer Society.

The theory is that the way alcohol is metabolized leads to higher estrogen levels in the bloodstream, which ups your odds of developing the disease.

“Women should have less than a drink a day,” Seewaldt says. One drink is a 10-ounce beer, a 4-ounce glass of wine or one shot of hard liquor.

(Courtesy of MCT Campus)