OSU fans wear pink for breast cancer awareness at the Oct. 26 football game against Penn State. OSU won, 63-14. Credit: Shelby Lum / photo editor
Breast cancer is beautiful. That’s right you just read the words “breast cancer” and “beautiful” in the same sentence. The disease my mom is currently fighting for her life is something I just called beautiful. I’ve known many breast cancer survivors throughout my life, including my mom who has survived this nasty disease three times. I personally know the struggle and the ugliness brought on from cancer. Diagnosed for her fourth time this past August, Diane Montville continues to be a warrior.
Juggling schoolwork on top of the emotions from this disease, I am currently in my second year at Ohio State. I have always been a proud Buckeye, but I have never been more personally touched than this past weekend during the football game. OSU played Penn State with a winning score of 63-14. It’s a game I will never forget because the entire stadium was not only supporting our amazing football team, but we were all supporting breast cancer awareness.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and my school took this on full-heartedly. Pink T-shirts, pink cheerleader outfits, pink all over the football players — everything was pink. I have never felt so personally touched sitting next to almost 106,000 people as I have this past Saturday.
Yes, breast cancer is a horrible, ugly, life threatening disease, but it brings so many people together in the most beautiful ways. Hope is a word we used every time my mom has had breast cancer in the past, but this time around, the word hope — just a short four letter word — has an entirely new meaning.
Hope is what Ohio Stadium felt as the winning touchdown was about to happen on the field. Hope is something you feel turning in an exam that determines your college GPA. It is something I feel when I see this beautiful warrior standing in front of me. It is something my mom sees every time she sees the color pink. Something felt with more than 100,000 people this past weekend. Hope is something I will never lose because my fellow Buckeyes showed me that thousands of other people support my mom. Hope is what makes breast cancer beautiful.
