A new force in the fight against cancer is gaining notoriety at Homewood, thanks to increased activism and devoted students.
Hopkins's chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) was founded in 2003 but remained relatively unknown until last year.
One of the founding members and the current president, Nancy Tray, says that the number of participating members has increased from less than 10 to between 30 and 40 since its inauguration.
CAC aims to help "any Baltimore locals who are cancer survivors," Tray said.
She said their services are extended to any person who has been diagnosed with cancer, and that they provide help to patients from the day of diagnosis through complete recovery. CAC also helps college students who are cancer survivors.
The American Cancer Society has set a goal that cancer will be essentially cured by 2015.
Tray said that "in the long term, [CAC is] going to work with all the other CAC chapters to reach that goal" and is optimistic about achieving it.
The CAC branches into four initiatives: advocacy, education, survivor support and Relay for Life.
All the members of last year's advocacy committee graduated, and so this year's committee has only recently been formed from new CAC members.
Their current project is the Picture a Cure campaign, where college students take photographs of any campus residents who have been affected by cancer, directly or indirectly, and send these pictures to local politicians and activists to "show that colleges are doing something" Tray said.
CAC chapters strive to educate their campuses both about cancer prevention in everyday life as well as the importance and ease of early detection.
The most recent initiative for the education committee at Hopkins was an informative booth at Breastival.
Hopkins's CAC supports any and all local survivors.
They are involved with the Ronald McDonald House, which helps seriously ill children and their families. CAC also is involved with the Hope Lodge, the ACS home for survivors. In October, CAC members visited a nearby Hope Lodge to deliver home-cooked meals to the survivors, which Tray said was received extremely well.
Perhaps the most publicized event that CAC is involved in is Relay for Life.
You may already be seeing advertisements in the Daily Announcements and around campus - this effective and enjoyable event garners support for the ACS each year. Participation in Relay for Life is perhaps the most effective way to become active with CAC.
"All four of these branches work together to fight cancer," Tray said, describing how every month CAC focuses on a specific type of cancer.
December is tobacco awareness month, so the group is focused on lung cancer, while January is for cervical cancer projects.
CAC's Web site describes their mission as an organization as "dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service."
