Life > October 11, 2007

By Brittany Wyche | Staff writer

If your level of knowledge about fashion is as high as mine, you probably automatically picture Ben Stiller competing in a walk-off against Owen Wilson when you hear the word “runway.” But there is hope for all of us!

Next week, the Panhellenic Council is sponsoring its 12th annual Breast Cancer Fashion Show, 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in Benson 401.

Each on-campus sorority involved in the Council is represented in the evening’s line-up.

The models and Council then work together to pick out the outfits the models will wear in the fashion show.

The Council is currently selling tickets to the event at the Benson Vendor Tables, across from the Pizza Hut.

Tickets will be on sale Oct. 1-12, and T-shirts sporting the theme “J’adore Pink!” will also be available for purchase during this time, in the same location as the tickets.

In addition to these sales, the Panhellenic Council is offering something new, a silent auction.

The items to be auctioned are shown during the ticket sales, as well as at the show itself.

These items range from Vineyard Vines selections, dinners for two, gift baskets and free massages, as well as other great prizes.

In a silent auction, bids are written on a sheet of paper and collected.

When the auction reaches its end date, the highest listed bidder wins the auction.

All of the proceeds from these sales and the auction go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The foundation was started by Nancy Brinker when she promised her dying sister, Susan Komen, that she would “do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever” in 1982.

Since then, it has become the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. Its funding contributes to, among other things, treatment of and screening for breast cancer.

The majority of their funds go to education (29 percent) and further research (33 percent).

Breast cancer has become an increasingly discussed topic in the world of public health, as so much depends on early awareness and detection.

Thanks to the efforts of groups like the Susan G. Komen foundation and the monetary support from events such as this year’s Breast Cancer Fashion Show, the five-year survival rate for women who develop breast cancer is at 90 percent.

Doctors recommend that everyone should conduct a breast self-exam monthly by the age of 20 in order to catch breast cancer early before it spreads to other parts of the body.

Events such as the Fashion Show also help to remind woman that screening is important, and that this is still very much a real issue in the medical community.

By hosting the fashion show, the Panhellenic Council is drawing attention to this cause in a fun, unique way.