This past week, Saginaw Valley State University hosted its annual Breast Cancer Survivor and Recognition event at the women’s basketball game against Ferris State University on Saturday night.
This marked SVSU’s eighth year hosting the community supporting event. Breast cancer survivors were invited to register for the event and be recognized for their triumph over the disease.
The event is a way to both support the community and fundraise for breast cancer research, specifically the Covenant Health Center CARE Fund.
Shirts were sold throughout the week for students to purchase. The shirts read “Real Cards Wear Pink” in order to raise awareness about breast cancer. Pink shirts, pink pom-poms, pink bracelets and other pink items were sold at the game, too.
Breast cancer survivors were invited to a reception before the game and received free admission to the basketball game that immediately followed.
To show their support for the event, the women’s basketball team wore pink uniforms and the cheerleaders sported pink pom-poms. Those working at the game, as well as the survivors being recognized, wore the “Real Cards Wear Pink” T-shirts.
At halftime, the survivors were led onto the court by members of the men’s basketball team. They were led through a tunnel of Kochville Township firefighters, arm in arm with their escorts, and they lined up along center court.
All together, 57 community members were celebrated for their triumph over breast cancer. Each survivor was given a pink carnation as they were led out to center court and announced individually.
The survivors were from surrounding areas such as Saginaw, Midland, Kochville, Freeland, Bay City and others. Several were from farther away but were still invited to be recognized for their triumph over cancer.
As each survivor was introduced, their name and hometown were stated, and the length of time since their diagnosis. Some survivors had as little as three months since their diagnosis, while others had up to 35 years, many of which were spent in remission.
The event drew a substantial crowd of spectators, survivors and family members. The crowd was largely dressed in pink to show their support of breast cancer awareness.
Survivors were flattered by the support of the school for this event, enjoying the way the school bonded together to support them in their battles against breast cancer.
“We are just so proud of how much the school puts into this event,” said survivor Rhonda, who wished to not provide her last name for privacy reasons. “It’s a real testament to how much community support there is for (people) who go through this struggle.”
Many survivors said that community support was key for them in their fights against breast cancer. A large portion of the survivors celebrated at the event said that community support groups were a great help to them.
Similarly, events like Saturday’s were also noted as great support outlets for those fighting breast cancer because they both raise awareness and allow the community to show their support.
Through the Breast Cancer Survivor and Recognition event, the community is able to support the fighters and raise money to aid in the fight against cancer.
The tally of money raised as of halftime was announced as $2,500, making the grand total $26,870 raised over the past eight years. Other money from further sales at the game was made as well.
The funds will be donated to the Covenant Health CARE Fund for cancer treatment and research.
The funds raised throughout the week, as well as those raised at the basketball game, will aid in this constant battle against breast cancer. The support demonstrated through this event cannot be measured, but it was what the survivors said meant the most to them because it reminded them that they are not alone in their battle.
