Tackling breast cancer

By: Tyler Cottle, Staff writer

October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the color pink was everywhere.

The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month brings awareness to breast cancer and those who are affected by this disease. According to National Breast Cancer Foundation, breast cancer occurs in 1 out of every 8 women and 1 in every 1000 men.

Kyle Murray, a senior criminal justice major, has worn pink during the month of October for football since he has been in high school.

“Breast cancer hasn’t affected me directly, but two of my friends’ moms had breast cancer,” Murray said. “So in high school we would wear pink throughout the whole month of October to support their moms’ battle with breast cancer.”

Many major sports teams pay tribute to breast cancer awareness by dressing in pink. Professional football teams wear pink accessories during games and some players even dye their hair. Professional baseball teams will typically have one game where they will play with pink gloves, wristbands and bats.

Local teams also partake in wearing pink. The Lebanon Valley College football team holds an annual pink game to show their support and give awareness to our community. On Oct. 28, the team took the field with pink wristbands, shoelaces, gloves, leggings, under shirts and mouthpieces.

LVC’s football team came out strong against their Middle Atlantic Conference opponent Misericordia in that game. The team quickly started out with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Misericordia then found the end zone to make it 14-7 for the remainder of the first half.

The Dutchmen came out in the second half and dominated. LVC scored one touchdown in the 3rd quarter and another in the 4th. Misericordia scored one more time in the final quarter, but the Dutchmen already had a commanding lead to win the game 28-13.

Michael Gaval, a senior wide receiver, had three catches for 50 yards with one of those catches going for 29 yards, setting up a Jon Jones touchdown.

“We played focused and disciplined,” Gaval said. “We stuck to our game plan and executed it nearly to perfection.”

Breast cancer awareness continues past the month of October for LVC. Along with the football team, the LVC women’s basketball team holds an annual pink game.

The Dutchmen wear pink jerseys and then auction them off at the end of the game. The proceeds are donated to breast cancer and the research to find a cure

Last year, the team raised more than $10,000 for the American Cancer Society of Lebanon and the Genetics Program at the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute.

The pink basketball game will be held on Feb. 8 of the upcoming year. The team will face conference opponent Arcadia.