Pete Moye’
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For many people of Cerritos College, October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a chance to stand up and shed light on the naked truth of an illness that is expected to take more than 39,000 lives this year, according to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website.

But for sociology major Melissa Alfaro, it is a reminder of the struggle that she faces everyday.

Alfaro, a survivor of Rhabdomysarcoma, a disease that affects about one in a thousand people, believes the awareness that breast cancer receives helps victims of all types of cancer.

“Breast Cancer is more common, so I’m really glad that a lot of awareness to it. But, at the same time, there are a lot of different cancers that people don’t usually hear about,” she said.

While victims who suffer from the same condition as Alfaro don’t have their own awareness month, some may feed off of the attention that October brings.

Think pink

Everywhere from the White House to the NFL, the color pink is displayed to provide support to the men and women continuing to fight Breast Cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in every eight women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer while one in every thousand men will be.

The Cerritos College volleyball team first began supporting the cause in 2009 and after skipping the past season, its salute to the awareness has returned.

Prior to the team’s match-up against Long Beach City College on Wednesday, the Falcons joined forces with the Side-Out Foundation and hosted its “Volley for the Cure” campaign.

The team sported white warm-up t-shirts before breaking out pink game jerseys

It also sold jerseys that said, “Volley for the Cure” and “Fight Like a Girl.”

Volleyball head coach Teresa Velasquez-Ortega said, “I began doing the event in 2009 because I had friends who had Breast Cancer,” she said, “they became survivors so this is a good way to fundraise money for the cause.”

She added, “I think it’s important because we’re women and people need to understand when they turn 30-years-old, they need to get checked.

Volleyball setter Gloria Chang said a member of her family suffered from Breast Cancer.

She said, “It was scary because [my family] was unsure because cancer can go either way. It can either go really well or really bad but we were just hopeful. We prayed a lot and we just tried to support her as much as we could.”

Fighting for her mother

Chelsea Rae Rufo, West Coast University nursing major, has been involved in the fight against Breast Cancer for nine years.

“When my mom was sick, I wanted her to know I supported her by doing walks under her name, even though she was too ill to join,” she said.

After surviving the battle for six years, Rufo lost her mother Zara in July 2008, leading to her increased participation.

“After she died, I wanted to continue making donations because they are more women out there that can survive Breast Cancer.

Last month, she was recognized by the ACS for being a volunteer for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

“[Being recognized] meant a lot to me because I don’t do what I do to be recognized. I was never expecting an award so it was really amazing.”

Alfaro strongly advises to not be afraid to get checked.

“Don’t be afraid of any results. Don’t wait until things get worse. It’s very important to get checked. If you don’t get the answer you want, you can always get a second opinion,” she said.

Volleyball middle blocker Jessica Dorado said she really appreciates people who make an effort to support the cause.

She said, “I’m going to donate my hair to help out in a couple months because I’ve always want to cut it for a good cause that helps people.”