By Jamie Iglesias
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Breast Cancer Awareness month is here.

To those who have experienced firsthand the effects of cancer, it becomes more than just a month of awareness.

Susanne Gaskins, Ph.D, is a history professor at Cal State Fullerton.

She is a breast cancer survivor and encourages those around her to get regular mammograms.
She went 10 years without getting a regular mammogram, and when she finally did, she found out she had breast cancer.

“It is easy to think that I’m too young, or that it is not necessary or I had one last year – but it is important to stay on top of it, because getting regular mammograms can save your life,” Gaskins said.

“In my case, there was no tumor; nothing visible on the outside … So the mammogram saved my life,” Gaskins said.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2003, and underwent various reconstructive surgeries in July of that same year. She was diagnosed, but still had to undergo a mastectomy to have her left breast removed.

“I was technically at a stage zero. The cancer, in my case, was inside the milk ducts and it did not go beyond that,” Gaskins said.

“I had a mastectomy because the cancer was present in three different areas,” Gaskins said. “One right under the nipple, and two right against the chest wall. They told me if I had two lumpectomies there would not be enough breast tissue left. So it was better from a medical standpoint to remove the whole breast.”

Even though she removed her left breast, there was still a 40 to 50 percent chance of developing cancer on her right breast.

Thus, she decided to get bilateral mastectomy.

“I had a five-year-old daughter,” Gaskins said. “I did not see a point in going through all of this at (one) time, and then going through it all again five years later. So I just thought, let’s get rid of them both.”

The hardest thing for Gaskins was waiting for the mastectomy. “Knowing that someone was going to cut off your breasts, and waiting for that to happen was really hard,” she said.

“It totally changed my wardrobe, and it totally changed my body image. But you know what? I had my life, and I get to see my daughter grow up,” Gaskins added.

“I say in class, ‘go home and ask you mother, your grandmothers, your aunts and your female relatives when was the last time that you had a mammogram and try to make them get one,’” Gaskins said.

Gaskins has also seen the spread of awareness on campus – especially from sororities.
The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority is hosting “Pink Week” during the last week of October, and “Pink Out” on Oct. 28 during the CSUF men’s soccer game against UC Irvine.

“We set a booth on Titan Walk during ‘Pink Week’ and we collect donations for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and other surrounding foundations,” said Deborah Lee, 20, communications major who is in charge of alumnae/collegiate relations for ZTA.

“We don’t just raise money and give it to the Susan G. Komen foundation. That would just be the easy way out. We want to do our part,” said Cathlyn Gonzales, 19, junior, communications major and service chair for ZTA.

Aside from holding events on campus, the sorority also participates in various events around Southern California to raise awareness for breast cancer.

On Sunday, Sept. 27, they attended the “Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure” in Orange County.
“We organize a survivor tent where all of the survivors can go and have drinks and relax; especially those who are running in the race. It is just to honor them,” Lee said.

“I have been to the ‘Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure’ three years, and every year they say to us, ‘we are so glad that you do this for us, because it’s been hard.’ And we know that it is hard. We are just glad that we can help them out and they can be honored for what they have been through,” Lee said.

During “Pink Week,” the ZTA sonority gives away gifts and information, notably shower cards about self breast examination, to both men and women.

Men might think nothing of the information and quickly forget about the card. But maybe one day they will find it and think they should start having self breast examinations or go get checked, Lee said.

Kathy Ting-Ting Yu, 21, chief administrative officer for Associated Students Inc., also attended this year’s “Race for the Cure.”

“You hear the statistics, but when you are (at the race) and you see everyone (who is there), you realize just how many people are affected by breast cancer,” Ting-Ting Yu said.

Breast cancer does not just affect the survivor, it affects their friends and family as well, Gonzales said. “It’s not a disease that affects one person. You (can’t help but to) realize that it’s huge.”