Breast cancer awareness is not just for women.
 Mississippi State University’s National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities Omega Psi Phi and Alpha Phi Alpha will host a breast cancer awareness program at 6 p.m. Tuesday in McCool Hall room 111.
DaVonta Whalum, treasurer of the Kappa Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha said the program, titled “Old Gold for a Cure,” will feature guest speaker Laura Hinton, a graduate assistant from the Longest Student Health Center.
“The program will teach women how to give self-tests and also reach out to men and highlight gray areas that men get breast cancer, too,” Whalum said. “Not a lot of men are aware that they are subject to get breast cancer as well.”
 Hinton said she will discuss breast cancer statistics, common risk factors and signs and symptoms of the disease at the program.
“My goal is for program attendees to take away some new knowledge about breast cancer,” Hinton said. “Also, I hope that people will utilize the risk-lowering and early detection strategies and be more aware of how breast cancer can affect an individual.”
 
The program will feature a silent auction, in which people participating will bid on items such as T-shirts, gift cards and book-bags donated from The Lodge, Barnes and Noble, The Sports Center and local boutiques to create proceeds that will go toward the American Cancer Society and men with prostate cancer.
Matthew Campbell, historian of the Kappa Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, said he expects the program to raise around $650 to $1,000.
“We will be selling ‘Fight for a Cure’ breast cancer awareness wristbands throughout the month of October, as well as at the program for $2 each,” Campbell said. “We hope that a vast majority of people at the program participate in the silent auction. It would make the amount of proceeds even greater.”
Catrell Johnson, secretary and program coordinator of the Theta Delta Delta chapter of Omega Psi Phi, said the program will also feature Dorothy Carson, customer service representative for Metro Cast, who will give a first-hand account of her personal experience with breast cancer.
“Receiving informational feedback is one thing, but it’s another to actually listen to a real-life testimony,” Johnson said. “You never know who is going through dealing with breast cancer or who you could give that extra push to go get tested.”