Pi Kappa Phi promotes protecting under belt
The “Test on the 10th ” campaign, run by the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at GCSU, is a crusade to educate and draw awareness to testicular cancer.
With help from several offices on campus, Pi Kappa Phi organized “Test on the 10th” in an effort to inform young men to perform a Testicular Self-Exam (TSE) every tenth of the month. In a joint effort, Student Affairs, The GIVE Center, Student Government Association, Student Health Services, Hands On Milledgeville, Counseling Services, University Housing and Campus Activities Board provided money to buy shower cards, which promote awareness and explain to perform a TSE.
“We have already given out like 500 cards; the goal is to get out 3,000 this year,” Paul F. Sedor II, assistant director of The GIVE Center and Department of Campus Life, said.
Intramural Sports holds a monthly event near the tenth of every month called “Play With Your Balls.”
“During the DZ Tug last semester we had a soccer course that we set-up down below of Saga and Chick-fil-A,” Alden Williams, Warden of Pi Kappa Phi, said. “As you went through the course, before you signed up to do it, you got information on awareness about testicular cancer.”
The Department of Athletics has attributed t-shirts to the cause as well.
“We were passing out shirts at the basketball game last Wednesday,” Williams said.
According to the National Cancer Institute, unlike prostate cancer, testicular cancer is a college age disease. Most young men are most prone to getting testicular cancer between the ages of 15 and 34, with 85 percent of the cases happening between the ages of 18 and 24.
Testicular cancer grows at a rapid rate and spreads very quickly.
“Early detection is key in all types of cancer, and this is one type that does not give enough face time and we are trying to change that,” Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity member, Ryan Reynolds said.
“If you were to get a physical over the summer, and you were perfectly clean, you could go home over Christmas Break and find out you have Stage 3 Testicular Cancer,” Sedor said. “It progresses to Stage 3 in about a semester’s time. Stage 3 is fatal.”
There is now a monthly text message that can be sent directly to your phone as a reminder to do a monthly self-exam.
“If you text ‘the10th’ to 41411 you will automatically be added to a list that will send out a text message the tenth of every month reminding you to check yourself for testicular cancer,” Reynolds said.
“Test every single month because you have to catch it really quickly or it can be fatal. If they catch it quickly (there is a) very great success rates,” Sedor said.
To find out more about information concerning “Test on the 10th” visit: http://www.gcsupikapps.com/the10th, and for information regarding the text message visit: http://www.gcsupikapps.com/the10threminder. For the latest news on testicular cancer and how to donate visit: http://www.everyman-campaign.org/.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Jan 25 2008. Filed under News.
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