October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an international health campaign put together by major breast cancer charities every year to increase awareness and raise funds for research.

During the morning school hours on Monday, North Decatur Jr./Sr. High School female students filed into the gymnasium to hear from Amy Kinker of the Columbus Chapter of the American Cancer Society about the affliction that touches the lives of millions of families around the world.

When Kinker asked the students to stand up if someone in their lives had been affected by breast cancer, nearly all of them stood. According to Kinker, 182,460 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. She and the American Cancer Society sought to dispel the myths, encourage self-examinations and spread information about the affliction. Through the program, the group hopes to reduce breast cancer deaths by 50 percent by the year 2015.

For Kinker, the best information she could give focused on early prevention and detection. To help with that endeavor, students were invited to pick up pamphlets with information on self-examination techniques and what to be looking for.

She encouraged the young girls not to be shy or embarrassed about talking about breast cancer with their parents or doctors. Kinker also suggested helping spread the information about early detection and prevention.

“You can make a difference in the lives of the ones that you love,” she said.

Kinker added that hearing the information from family and friends often means more to a person than hearing it from a pamphlet or a doctor.

To illustrate her point, Kinker shared her personal story of breast cancer. She had lost her grandmother to the disease on St. Patrick’s Day.

“It’s supposed to be the luckiest day of the year. For me, it wasn’t that lucky,” she said. “But you guys can make a difference.”

The Tell a Friend initiative, which gives young women a chance to fight back, was a way in which to begin making that difference. There are five steps to starting the process. The first is to contact at least five women who are not doing what they could for early detection, and then encouraging them to stay vigilant and helping to make appointments for mammograms.

“You can make a difference in the lives of the ones that you love,” Kinker explained. “A simple phone call can save a life. Don’t think that you can’t do anything, because you can.”

When Kinker finished her presentation, chants of “think pink” resounded throughout the gymnasium.

More information about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Tell a Friend program can be found on the Web at www.cancer.org, or by contacting the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.