Students and staff were invited to honor those affected by breast cancer for Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Library Lawn.

Associated Students (AS) hosted the event, sharing campus resources and offering free giveaway items such as pink ribbon pins, cupcakes, t-shirts and bags. Music played on speakers around the booths, featuring artists like Jack Johnson.

“We just kind of want to normalize cancer specifically, not only to promote breast cancer awareness but cancer altogether,” said Peyton Lustyk, the organizer of the event. “We really want to make a difference and make an impact and hopefully inspire some students to reach out and support those who are going through it.”

Valley Breast Care and Women’s Health Center made an appearance at the event. Valley Breast Care was first established in 2005 and offers high quality breast cancer screenings and diagnostics to women in Downtown LA, Santa Clarita and the San Fernando Valley, according to their pamphlets.

Tania Peymany from Valley Breast Care said she hoped this event would have an impact for students at CSUN.

“What we truly hope to do is just spread awareness and have people do their self-checks and go into the clinic and hospital when they need to, so that they can take the necessary preventative treatment measures that they need to, so that we can reduce breast cancer and save lives,” she said.

The event had different booths to spread positivity among the community. Friendship bracelet making, bag decorating, a photo booth and a whiteboard for writing about loved ones affected by breast cancer were available. There was also a support booth where students could write an encouraging message to women fighting breast cancer that would be donated to the UCLA Health Porter Ranch Cancer Care Center.

Nutrition expert Alexandra Duta from the university’s Marilyn Magaram Center (MMC) tabled the event, offering a spin the wheel with different nutrition questions revolving around breast cancer.

Ultimately, Duta emphasized the importance of a balanced diet and regular exercise, including how optimizing general health has positive impacts, not only towards breast cancer prevention, but for a better quality of life.

“At least the ultra-processed foods, because when you think ultra-processed, that’s fats, sugars, oils, sodium, that we are trying to avoid, mostly because of the weight gain. These increase inflammation and can lead to cancer,” Duta said.

The Klotz Student Health Center (SHC) also shared its resources and its mission to prioritize student health. The center offers many free to low-cost services to any CSUN student, including primary care, wellness exams, dental services and a pharmacy. All of these services are provided by licensed and board-certified healthcare professionals.

These health services are available to students with and without insurance. These services can be accessed at the Klotz Health Center. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday. The event allowed students to learn more about resources available at the university while spreading awareness on breast cancer.