Groups such as Susan G. Komen put on events to fundraise for breast cancer research and patient support throughout the month. It is a time for everyone who has been afflicted with breast cancer in any way to come together and show support.
Aside from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most diagnosed type of cancer among women. According to breastcancer.org, about one in eight women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
Sarah Rothman, senior, wanted to bring the discussion about Breast Cancer Awareness Month into HHS. This past Wednesday, Rothman’s goal came to fruition.
Rothman created the Hopkins Talks Pink WIN session as a way for HHS students to “learn more about breast cancer by hearing different stories.” She has had the idea to start a discussion about breast cancer for a couple years, but Rothman was inspired to form the session by some sobering news she heard in class a few weeks ago.
“One of my teachers told our class that her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple weeks ago and it really made me think about how many people this issue affects,” said Rothman.
Rothman’s personal connection to breast cancer stems from when her mom, Devora, was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer during Sarah’s freshman year. While her mom was dealing with cancer, Sarah wanted to use her mom’s experience to teach herself and others about breast cancer.
“When she told my family that she had been diagnosed, it made me want to become more educated about breast cancer so I could prevent it for myself and others,” said Rothman.
During the session, Rothman brought in her mom, Devora, alongside Hindy Tankenoff, the motherof Mollie Tankenoff, senior, to chat about breast cancer prevention and treatment for breast cancer. Rothman wanted to bring the two of them in so that they could speak on their personal experiences with breast cancer.
“I wanted to bring in people who could educate our generation because I feel like our generation isn’t very educated on breast cancer,” said Rothman.
Following the event, Rothman thought that the event went well and she was happy that she was able to teach people in attendance about an issue that is near and dear to her heart.
“No matter the number of people that were there, I’m just glad that we got to teach some people today,” said Rothman. “If you teach even like five or ten people, that’s still a big success.”