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“THINK PINK” WITH THE TWU BASKETBALL TEAM THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
 DENTON, Texas (February 13) - The Texas Woman’s University basketball team has partnered with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to host “Think Pink” Night at Kitty Magee Arena this Saturday, Feb. 16, at 7:00 p.m. when the Pioneers take on the Tarleton State University TexAnns in a Lone Star Conference South Division game.
The WBCA's "Think Pink" initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The WBCA began "Think Pink" in 2007 as a medium to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities.
In 2008, more than 800 schools will unify for this effort and help make the second year of the WBCA's "Think Pink" campaign, which runs from Friday, Feb. 8, to Sunday, Feb. 17, a success.
"The WBCA is very excited to promote an initiative that touches all levels of our membership and unifies them for such a great cause," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "It has been remarkable to watch the support of this initiative grow from 120 teams last year to over 900 teams from a variety for sports for 2008. With the help of each of our members, the women's basketball community and beyond can make a difference in the fight against breast cancer."
The Pioneer basketball team will wear pink face tattoos during Saturday night’s game against the TexAnns. Beth Jillson and Devry McDonald, the TWU basketball coaches, will also wear pink. Additionally, the event staff and game management staff will be wearing “Think Pink” t-shirts. All fans attending the game are also encouraged to don pink to show their support in the fight against breast cancer.
A pink ribbon will be pinned up in the arena for every three-point shot made in the game by the Pioneers. Immediately following the game, the TWU basketball players and staff will be stationed at the arena exits asking fans to donate one dollar to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every ribbon hanging. A Breast Cancer Awareness promotions table will also be set up in the Magee Arena lobby where donations can be made before and during the game.
“I’m looking forward to the Think Pink Night,” said Jillson. “This is a wonderful cause for our basketball team and our fans to support. Hopefully our fans will come out on Saturday night and join us and we take part in the fight against breast cancer.”
BREAST CANCER FACTS AND STATISTICS:
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for all women and the leading overall cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 20 and 59.
- In the United States, a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed every three minutes, and a woman will die from breast cancer every 13 minutes.
- African American women have a higher breast cancer death rate that woman of any other racial or ethnic population.
- Eighty percent of all breast tumors are benign.
- In 2007, it was estimated that there would be 178,480 new cases of breast cancer in women and 2,030 new cases of breast cancer in men. Of these, an estimated 40,460 women and 450 men will die from the disease.
- The basic treatment choices for breast cancer are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy.
- The most common risk factors of breast cancer are sex, age, personal history, family history and breast cancer genes.
- The highest risk factor for breast cancer is being female with the disease being 100 times more common among women.
- The risk of breast cancer increases as a woman grows older.
- Women who have had breast cancer and women with a history of breast disease may develop it again.
- The risk of developing breast cancer increases for a woman whose mother, sister, daughter or two or more relatives have had the disease.
- Some women and men may be born with a change in one or two genes that are important for regulating breast cell growth. Those who inherit an alteration in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at an inherited higher risk for breast cancer.
- The hormone Estrogen may also play a key role in the risk factors of breast cancer including having an early first period or menstrual bleeding, having a first pregnancy after the age of 25 to 35, having no children and the use of hormone replacement therapy.
- Women who begin menstruating before the age of 12 are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer- the more menstrual cycles a woman gets over her lifetime, the more likely she is to get the disease.
- Early pregnancies may help to lower the chances of getting breast cancer, but these same hormonal changes may work in reverse and contribute to the incidence of breast cancer after age 35.
- Women who experience continuous menstrual cycles until menopause are at a higher than average risk for breast cancer.
- Women appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer while they are on Hormone Replacement Therapy which continues for a short time thereafter.
- There are several lifestyle choices that individuals can make to help reduce breast cancer risk including decreasing daily fat intake (especially saturated and hydrogenated), increasing fiber, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, limiting alcohol, staying active and not smoking.
- The best available method to detect breast cancer early is a mammography screening.
- Breast cancer is the most invasive cancer among women in the U.S. accounting for nearly one out of every three cancers diagnosed.
- An estimated 178, 480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to occur in 2007.
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