by Xochitl Campos
Daily Lobo
Students involved in Colleges Against Cancer might not be directly affected by cancer, but they know someone who is.
"I know a lot of people who have it," Molly Maguire-Marshall said. "This year, my best friend's mom was diagnosed with cancer."
Maguire-Marshall, a member of the group, helped organize Paint UNM Pink Week.
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"People have been coming up to tell us how glad they are that we are here," she said. "This is not a special-interest group - it is an everybody-interest group."
The group is hosting a week of activities at Smith Plaza from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Laura Rasmussen, a member of the group, said the group will give out pink ribbons and breast cancer pamphlets all week.
"We have this thing called the pink link," she said. "They are pink strips of paper where people can write dedications and link them together like a chain."
Rasmussen said the group will allow people to paint pumpkins pink Wednesday and take them to a breast cancer survivor.
"We also have advocacy day on things that people can do, like go to the Legislature to try and make mammograms more accessible to women who can't necessarily afford to go," she said.
The group drew people to their booth by hanging up bras.
"We did a bra drive in the dorms, and it is just a good attention-grabber," Maguire-Marshall said.
She said the purpose of the event is to spread awareness, not just to recruit people to the group.
Cancer is so common in society that it is unimaginable to go through life without having a friend or family member afflicted by it, Maguire-Marshall said.
"I'm going to know somebody eventually in my life that is affected by this," Maguire-Marshall said. "Just because I don't know someone now doesn't mean I won't in the future."
Student Stephanie McMillin said she knows the effects breast cancer has on a family.
McMillin said her grandmother is in remission.
"It makes you think about life a little bit differently," she said. "Especially when it is a severe cancer, you don't take little things for granted anymore."
Maguire-Marshall said she wants people to know the disease does not discriminate.
"Cancer is nonpartisan because it is a disease that affects everyone, and fighting cancer is something everyone can support," Maguire-Marshall said.
