VCU host educational breat cancer tour Sept. 16

By Malorie Burkett

Exhibits designed to educate young women and offer support about breast cancer.

Virginia Commonwealth University's Office of Health Promotion will host "On the Way to the Cure: The Komen College Tour," which is part of the Komen Foundation's Young Women's Initiative designed to raise awareness for early detection of breast cancer, a disease that claims some 40,000 lives annually.

The free event is part of a multi-city college tour along the East Coast and will take place Thursday, Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in VCU's Park Plaza and Park Court near the Hibbs building.

The tour features a pink vehicle that serves as an interactive learning station. The stations will include computer kiosks, informational materials about breast cancer, breast self-examination guides, opportunities for local involvement, and on-site health care personnel to answer questions and provide information on how to schedule a clinical breast exam at VCU Student Health Services.

The tour also will feature an eight-foot "graffiti" wall, where students will have the opportunity to share a memory or pledge their personal support in the fight against breast cancer.

There will be prizes and giveaways, such as iPods, Pier 1 Imports gift certificates, designer T-shirts, pre-paid calling cards and GUND teddy bears.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the foundation is an international organization with a network of more than 75,000 volunteers who work to eliminate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. For more information on the tour, visit www.komen.org/college.