For breast cancer survivors, October is not just any month; October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. There are several different ways that Harding, Searcy and White County are involved in promoting awareness.

Brooke Pryor, director of Marketing and Community Relations at White County Medical Center, said that one of the biggest events White County Medical Center holds is the Barbara Montgomery Memorial Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon. This will be the 21st annual luncheon and will be held at the hospital today by invitation only.

“We have a packed house usually,” Pryor said. “We have around 150 women there every year, and spouses sometimes. A lot of them are breast cancer survivors. A lot of them are currently dealing with and fighting breast cancer. So what we do is we have education from a physician and we have a personal story from a survivor.”

According to Pryor, there are a few ways Searcy residents and Harding students can be more aware of breast cancer.

“(The Race for the Cure) is one of the largest (races) in the country,” Pryor said. “It is amazing. … I’ve been going for years, and I’m not a breast cancer survivor. I really don’t have anyone in my immediate family who is, but this experience is for everyone.”

According to Pryor, the hospital has supported the Susan G. Komen Foundation through sponsorships, and in the past, it has helped coordinate the Searcy team that participates in Race for the Cure. Pryor also said that it is possible for classes or organizations to tour the Cancer Center of Excellence.

“I would encourage any organization or class or social group or club or anybody that’s interested in having a tour, to contact us,” Pryor said. “To me, that’s the most hands-on, powerful way to see what we do in our not-so-big community, right here in Searcy, to fight cancer.”

According to Pryor, diet, exercise and getting regular mammograms are instrumental in preventing breast cancer.

“It really does (start with diet and exercise),” Pryor said. “Literally every disease state, most disease states, can be tracked back to someone’s diet. Also … if someone’s got a family history of breast cancer, at all, they need to get a mammogram, even in their twenties.”

The Harding volleyball and soccer teams also raised cancer awareness this week. According to head coach Meredith Fear, the volleyball team had their Pink Night Tuesday.

“We have a pink night every year, and the pink has become a really big thing,” Fear said. “Anytime people see pink, they think ‘breast cancer’ (or) ‘breast cancer awareness,’ but we go on and we try to make it personal. Pretty much everyone knows someone that’s been directly affected by this. I think the pink in general raises awareness, and then we give our funds specifically to one person.”

All proceeds from both the women’s soccer and volleyball games will go to sponsor 8-year-old Carson Head who is battling bone cancer. The Harding women’s soccer team will have their Pink Night tonight, and all the proceeds will go to Carson. The players will wear white jerseys with pink numbers and lettering.

Relay for Life also kicks off today at 6 p.m. and will last until 6 a.m. Saturday.

For more information on Carson Head’s story, check out The Link.