School of Science sponsors Blue Tie Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign



Students in the HU Pre-Health program bring community awareness to Prostate Cancer.

The Hampton University School of Science Pre-Health Program and the Undergraduate Cancer Research Program sponsored the Blue Tie Prostate Cancer Awareness campaign for the month of September. 

 Student volunteers collaborated with Professor Michael Druitt, program director, to distribute blue-ribbons and information to help bring more attention to this specific health disparity that affect African-American men disproportionately. According to pcf.org African-American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease.

On Sept. 20 undergraduates Kaia Amoah, sophomore from Ohio and Domonique Hill, a junior from Chicago, worked with high school student, Brooke Ford, from the Governor’s School for Science and Technology, to produce ribbons and handouts and distributed them to students, faculty, administrators and staff in the Student Center.

“Hearing about the relevance of prostate cancer caused me to desire to have it draw an equal awareness as breast cancer. They deserve equal support!” said Ford.

The month of September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and HU is engaged in community service and education. The Medical Science graduate students visited local high schools to educate and inform youth groups about the Blue Tie Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign.    

“I am so glad that I could be a part of the Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign this year. I think this campaign is a great chance to inform others about the signs and preventions so that they may live long healthy lives. I have known a few people who have gotten prostate cancer and I think it is important to create more awareness for something that is so prevalent in the African-American male community," said Amoah.

-Brianna Dance ‘14