October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At Williston, various girls’ sports teams host pink games and fundraisers to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer research. But what is Breast Cancer Awareness Month really all about?

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease and promote early detection.

Be it directly or indirectly, many members of the Williston community, past and present, have been affected by the disease.

One member of the Williston community who was recently diagnosed with the disease is Mrs. Kathryn Hill. Mrs. Hill is a Williston math teacher, mother of a current student and graduate of Williston, and the wife of Head of School Mr. Robert Hill. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last spring.

On the subject of what Breast Cancer Awareness Month meant to her, Mrs. Hill says, “Well for me it’s become so much more personal this year than it’s ever been before.” She continues, “One of the wonderful things about Breast Cancer Awareness Month is that it raises a lot of money for research, and that research has been really crucial to me because I’m having a lot of fairly new treatments that are all based on research from the last ten or twenty years.”

Mrs. Hill found out about her cancer while she was on a routine mammogram check last year. She was able to detect her cancer in its early stages and seek out the proper treatments quickly.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to afford such regular mammogram checks. This leaves many potential carriers of the disease unaware of their condition.

Brittany Collins, a  2014 graduate of Williston who now attends Smith College in Northampton, Mass, is yet another member of the Williston community who has experienced the impact of breast cancer.

Collins’ father passed away from breast cancer in 2011. Her mom, who was also diagnosed with the disease, is now a survivor. As a result, breast cancer awareness has become a cause that she is very invested in.

She says, “The funds generated during this month are crucial as there are way too many Breast Cancer patients receiving inadequate care because of their socioeconomic or familial situations… But if the publicity motivates one person to schedule a mammogram, or to more effectively care for a friend enduring cancer, that is an equally valuable success in my eyes.”

Although breast cancer is more prevalent among women than it is among men, it affects both genders. Every year, roughly 2000 men are diagnosed with Breast Cancer in the United States. This is a small number compared to the one in eight women who are diagnosed.

“Since men are not screened for the disease, [my father’s] was not found until it had grown to Stage 4. He underwent surgery and four years of treatment before passing away in 2011,” Collins shares.

Collins believes that more light can be shed on the prevalence of breast cancer among men. She says, “I think it’s important for major corporations, such as Avon, Susan G. Komen, The American Cancer Society, and even the NFL (the league has been a driving force in making Breast Cancer Awareness Month a big deal) to expand their messages to include men. The disease is often feminized, which leaves men at risk.”

She adds, “On a more personal level, if a woman knows that she carries a genetic mutation, it is important for her to inform any sons or brothers she may have, as the majority of male cases are a result of inheritance.”

The Williston community has proved itself to be a supportive one. So Collins, Mrs. Hill, and so many others, haven’t had to cope with their situations alone.

Mrs. Hill says, “Oh, [the community has] been great. Mr. Hill came to every one of my chemotherapy sessions with me… And the community was so supportive. If you could have seen my kitchen after my surgery, it was filled with like fifteen bouquets of flowers.”

She noted that many of her students had stopped asking for extra help once her chemotherapy started and voiced her appreciation for their considerate gesture.

Mrs. Hill also carries around a pink ribbon keychain given to her by Mr. Hill and explains that they carry matching ones around.

As for how her perspective of this month has changed over the past year, she says, “You know, I always knew breast cancer was something you had to worry about. I thought probably I had another few years, till I was in my fifties to worry about it, especially without any family history of it… It is more of a disease that can affect anyone than I ever thought.”

Collins sums up the impact of breast cancer by saying, “The impact that breast cancer has on patients and their families is beyond articulation. There is no way to encapsulate its devastation.