VOLUME 85, NO. 29WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10 2009

The Tennessee State House of Representatives nar-rowly voted down a controversial bill, 49-42, concerning selenium levels in Tennessee water sources, last Wednes-day.

Selenium is a trace mineral that acts as an antioxidant similar to vitamin A, but can be toxic in large doses. John Divincenzo, the director of Environmental Science and Technology at MTSU, said humans require selenium as part of a healthy diet and usually absorb it from grains and vegetables.

He said the effect of selenium ona aquatic life depends on the level of concentration in the water.

“With a high enough concentration acute affects could develop in all levels of the food chain,” Divincenzo said. “Selenium does mobilize when you dredge the rivers.”

Rep. Kent Coleman, D-Murfreesboro, said this bill could harm fish and wildlife in his district and the entire state.

“I am very concerned about the water quality and the long-term effect this could have on our environment,” Coleman said. “The standards proposed are quite a bit more than the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] guidelines.”

Roxanne Reyley, research director for the Tennessee Mining Association, said the bill would replace the EPA’s current guidelines from 1987 with standards based on more recent scientific data.

Reyley said it is unfair to the coal mining industry to add the older standards to current permits.

“We are heavily regulated,” Reyley said. “We’re OK with regulation, but it seems only right to regulate based on new science.”

Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, sponsored the bill, which was supported by the TMA, based in Knoxville, Tenn. The bill passed with a majority through both the Senate and House environmental committees before failing to pass in the House.

Reyley said she fears the bill’s defeat was “more of a partisan issue” for lawmakers rather than a vote for the “merits” of such a bill.

The legislation stopped at the House of Representa-tives, but the vote was close enough that McCord has

the option to reintroduce it for vote at any time.Reyley said the TMA is currently considering

the future of the bill.“It is a complicated technical issue,” Reyley

said. “There are still a lot of options and we have to evaluate these options.”

Coleman said state voters should learn the facts of this issue and have a voice in the fu-ture of this legislation.

What are you drinking?

By Ben UnDeRWOODStaff Writer

“I am very concerned about the water quality and the long-term effect this could have on our environment.”

- Kent ColemanTenn. Representative

Bill to increase selenium levels in Tenn. water falls short in House

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Leary, photography editor

Hear more from Ben online at MTSUSidelines.com/podcasts

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McPhee doesn’t rule out cutting philosophyPresident Sidney McPhee’s final sta-

tus report on “Positioning the Univer-sity for the Future,” released in late May, outlined the possible elimina-tion of the Philosophy Department.

The status report said the recommen-dation for the elimination of the Depart-ment of Philosophy would be supported if a viable plan for significantly increas-ing the number of majors has not been approved by the interim provost and president by September 30, 2009.

McPhee said that the Physics Depart-ment was also under consideration for elimination, but after drafting a report to show how the department planned to grow, it was taken off of the list. He said the Philosophy Department has the same opportunity to present a plausible plan.

“If the department doesn’t develop a concrete plan on how they intend to not only reduce costs but increase growth then it is my opinion that we ought not have that department at MTSU,” McPhee said.

Diane Miller, vice provost for Academic

Affairs and interim provost, said if a de-cision to eliminate or merge the depart-ment is made, a plan to phase out the ma-jor over a three- to four-year period will allow students currently enrolled in the major to complete their degree program.

McPhee said he thinks that the Philos-ophy Department is already preparing a plan for how to decrease spending and increase enrollment.

Ron Bombardi, Philosophy Department chair, was unavailable for comment.

McPhee said that the elimination of the department does not mean that the major would not still be available, however, the merging of the department could still be an option if the elimination were to occur.

“Should a decision be made to elimi-nate the Department of Philosophy, the interim provost, in consultation with the appropriate deans, academic personnel and Faculty Senate representatives, will explore the various options for merging the department with the most appropriate and compatible existing academic depart-ment at the University,” the report said.

McPhee said that the possible depart-

ments that the Philosophy Department could be merged with would not be looked into unless the elimination is emanated.

“I am pretty depressed that they are talking about eliminating the Philoso-phy Department,” said Jeff Pair, former MTSU philosophy graduate. “It is real-ly important stuff, and it isn’t practical but it is life skills that we learn.”

Pair said that he feels that college is now all about jobs and not education.

He said that the Philosophy Department is one of the best departments at MTSU and it would be a disservice to MTSU students if it were to be eliminated.

“I think the department is really great because we have great professors,” Pair said. “I feel like the world is moving in a direction where philosophy is on the chopping block because of the societies focus on jobs, [and] they don’t realize the value of philosophy.”

By Alex MoorMAnNews Editor

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Leary, photography editor

(Left to Right) René Descartes, Karl Marx, Fredrich Nietzche and Plato will be thrown out if the Philosophy Department is eliminated from MTSU.

Graphic by Chris Carter, production manager

TBR foresees future tuition hike with two options

The Tennessee Board of Regents is dis-cussing two options that would increase the tuition rates at MTSU along with removing the 12-hour cap on per hour costs.

Recent documents released last week by TBR show that option one would make the first 12 hours at four-year universities cost $191 per hour [$2,292 per semester], and option two would bring the first 12 hours up to $193 per hour [$2,316 per se-mester]. Each additional hour would cost $10 per hour in both options.

Mary Morgan, the director of commu-nications for TBR, said that they are not expecting the tuition to affect the level of MTSU enrollments, though it could cause trouble in the community colleges.

“We have not seen any decline in en-rollment that is traceable to [tuition in-creases],” Morgan said. “We have not seen a decline at any of our schools in the 10

years that I have been employed here.”The TBR presentation also showed

the increase as 6.6 percent among stu-dents taking 12 hours and only a 1.1 percent increase among students tak-ing six hours in option one. Option two showed an increase of 7.7 percent for 12 hours and 2.1 percent for six-hour stu-dents.

Morgan said that while the board will undoubtedly have to make tuition in-creases, they are trying to keep rates low for part time students. She said that it was an effort to make college more affordable overall.

The TBR proposal documents also show that the four-year universities will still require large sums of money to keep under the new budget plan; around $13 million under option one and $8 million under option two.

“Each campus has a three year bud-get plan, along with how they will use the stimulus money and how to help

the stimulus money be more efficient,” Morgan said. “We will be using these plans as benchmarks and to monitor their performance.”

Morgan said that the president, the gov-ernor and TBR do not want the budget cuts to drastically affect the students so they are taking planning very seriously.

“I would still attend [because] it’s school and some people have to do it,” said Jes-sica Hughes, a junior nursing major.

TBR plans to make a final decision regarding the tuition increase later this month.

By Dustin evAnsAssistant News Editor

Check out our tuition hike video

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NEWSMTSUSIDELINES.COM June 10, 2009 3

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Vegan cooking classes held at Discovery Center

Sassy VEG Productions is scheduled to hold a two-month vegan cooking class series at the Discovery Center, be-ginning Saturday.

The first class, “The Joy of Soy,” is scheduled to take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“[Sassy VEG Productions is] on a mission to improve health through a healthy lifestyle and plant based cuisine,” said Christienne Miller, marketing/founding partner of Sassy VEG Productions. “Most people have only experienced traditional types of vegetarian meals, but this class will be serving up new, refreshing and hardy meals.”

Miller said that she changed her eating habits after being diagnosed with rheu-matoid arthritis and gout. She said she felt like she was a “22-year-old living inside of an 80-year-old person’s body” before tak-ing on a healthy eating lifestyle.

Some of the other classes offered dur-ing the two-month period are “Back-yard BBQ,” “Garden Glory” and “Viva la Vegan.”

“It would be a very wise decision for the MTSU dining halls and cafeterias to consid-er adding more plant-based meals, not only for vegetarians, but for all students,” said Samuel Barnes, a junior marketing major.

When it comes to a personal instructor on how to cook vegan meals, Danny Mc-Clain, junior graphic design major, said “it would be great to have an actual instructor to give the in’s and out’s of cooking vegan.” He said most of his knowledge about cook-ing comes from cookbooks or through his own experiments in the kitchen.

The tuition for the class is pre-paid only. To reserve a seat now, send a $35 check to Sharon Jacks at 115 Lilac Court Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37128.

By Callie DurhamContributing Writer

Gender identity bill up for debate in SGA

Student Government Association senator and vice president of MT Lambda, Brandon Thomas, submitted a proposal to SGA asking they include “gender identity and expression” to the recognized basic rights of the SGA con-stitution.

The amendment to Article 2, Sec-tion 2, is supported by the MTSU Lambda Association and will broaden the constitution’s non-discrimination policy, which already lists gender and sexual orientation as basic rights.

Thomas said the constitution should also include gender identity and ex-pression to further protect students from discrimination.

“We have to be proactive and not re-active,” Thomas said. “It’s something that definitely needs to be done.

“It will show that MTSU and the SGA are more diverse and more open-minded.”

The omission in the SGA constitu-tion’s anti-discrimination policy needs to be addressed now, said MT Lambda President Zak Craft.

“I don’t think that we can just wait until people are more comfortable with [the bill],” Craft said.

Craft also said it’s time to move for-ward, and if the bill passes, it will make students feel safer to be who they are.

SGA President Brandon McNary said he feels that every issue the SGA sena-tors propose are important, but this one is “slightly redundant.”

“The only thing I believe [it] would do for a group of MTSU students is show them [that] the SGA is proactive in how we represent our students,” McNary said.

Thomas said he has heard this type of explanation before.

“Some people feel that [sexual orien-tation, gender identity and expression] are the same,” Thomas said.

Thomas also said that they have com-plicated meanings and can’t simply be defined as matters of biology.

“Sexual orientation has to do with who you’re attracted to,” Craft said. “Gender identity is who you feel you are inside and it may not match up with your assigned sex at birth.”

Thomas said expression is a vague term, but its inclusion in the amend-ment will protect all students, not just those who are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The bill will be presented to the SGA senate twice and must receive two-thirds of the vote, which con-sists of 33 senators, each time, Mc-Nary said. If it passes both times, stu-dents will be able to vote on it during Homecoming Elections at the end of September.

The proposal is a stepping stone to-ward a bigger goal, Thomas said. He said MT Lambda plans on presenting the anti-discrimination policy changes to President Sidney McPhee to amend MTSU’s campus-wide policy.

The changes will show that “it’s not just one section of MTSU, but MTSU as a whole” that doesn’t discriminate against gender identity and expression, Thomas said.

By megan mCswainContributing WriterPhoto by Erin O’Leary, photography editor

The Discovery Center is offering vegan cook-ing classes.

Check out the message boards online at

MTSUSidelines.com/messageboards/

genderidentity

Summer Football Preview

MTSUSIDELINES.COM June 10, 2009 4

SPORTSCheck Out The “LoweDown”

with Richard Lowe

MTSUSidelines.com/podcasts

Walters named Director of Broadcast ing

Onl ine a t :mtsus idel ines.com

Red Wolves, Owls chief rivals to Troy’s crown

Last Year’s Record: 6-62008 started out with a bang but ended

with disappointment for Arkansas State University. The Red Wolves started its sea-son at 4-2, with victories over Texas A&M on the road and MT and University of Louisiana in Monroe at home. The start automatically put Arkansas State in the discussion to contend with Florida Atlantic University and Troy University for the Sun Belt Conference Trophy. But a disastrous finish to their season left them with a 6-6 record, its third in the last four years.

Head coach Steve Roberts will be look-ing to break the glass ceiling this year with several key players returning for their final season with ASU.

Toughest Opponent in 2009: Oct. 31 at University of Louisville

At the halfway point of last season, Ar-kansas State looked like they were well on their way to a winning record and a bowl bid. Instead they lost four of their final six games. Awaiting them at the midsea-son this year will be a Louisville team that will be seeking to bounce back after a 5-7 season. The result of this game should not determine the rest of the season but an embarrassing loss may send this team to another mediocre season and have fans wondering if this team can ever get over the hump.

Key game in 2009: Nov. 14 at Florida Atlantic University

If the Red Wolves want a successful sea-son, then they will need to win late in the

season. Playing three of their final four games on the road will be a difficult task. A victory over FAU will certainly build con-fidence for this team the rest of the way but a loss could sink this team for the rest of the season, and that’s with two of the final three games being against the University of North Texas and Western Kentucky Uni-versity.

Key Players: DE Alex Carrington and RB Reggie Arnold

In order for ASU to be successful, they will need both of these players to have lights out seasons. Both players have the potential to win the offensive and defensive conference player of the year awards but they must carry the load for this team. Ar-nold will be looking to be the eighth player to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons. If Carrington has another season like last season, he will rank as one of the top sack artists in ASU history.

Last year’s record: 7-6 (Motor City Bowl Champions)

Florida Atlantic University started their year off as if they completely forgot to play football. Now to be fair, they did face then-11th ranked University of Texas, Javon Ringer, who was one of the nation’s best running backs at the time, and lost on a Hail Mary pass at MT. FAU did eventually prove that it’s not how you start a race but how you finish it.

They won six of their final seven games, including an overtime thriller with Florida International University and a Motor City

Bowl victory over Central Michigan Uni-versity. Head coach Howard Schnellen-berger will be looking to win their second Sun Belt Conference Championship in three years.

Toughest Opponent in 2009: Sept. 19 at University of South Carolina

Early season momentum will be what the Owls need in order to be successful. In order for that to take place, they cannot get embarrassed by a South Carolina team that plays well out of conference at home. With Rusty Smith at quarterback, FAU can defeat anyone as long as his defense allows him to stick to the game plan. This could be an upset.

Key Game in 2009: Nov. 21 at Troy Uni-versity

If the Owls want another SBC Trophy, they will have to defeat Troy. Ideally, FAU would want to come into this game with a maximum of one conference loss. Any more losses than that could mean FAU is just playing spoiler to Troy’s title hopes. This game could also determine the win-ner of the SBC Player of the Year between Smith and Troy LB Boris Lee.

However, FAU has to make sure they don’t overlook Arkansas State the week be-fore. That can be a trap game.

Key Player: QB Rusty SmithFAU’s success will start and stop with

Rusty Smith running the show. He is the best offensive pro prospect in the confer-ence and has the skills to be a high round draft pick. Smith cannot afford to have a bad year if he wants a future in football. If Smith has a great year to finish his career then FAU will be in the New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt Conference champions.

Photos by Ralph Notaro and ASU Sports Information

QB Rusty Smith (left) and DE Alex Carrington (right) are two of the top players in the SBC.

Next Week

This summer, “Sidelines” will be traveling around the Sun Belt Conference to give you a peek at what the competition will be like this season. This week, we have Arkansas State University and Florida Atlantic University.

By RichaRd loweSports Editor

The Blue Raiders will send four ath-letes to the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayette-ville, Ark. Wednesday to compete in three events.

Juniors Sarah Nambawa and Britta-ny Cox, along with sophomore Stanley Gbagbeke and senior Carl Morgan will make the trip to the campus of Univer-sity of Arkansas after qualifying in their respective events at the NCAA Mideast Regional meet in Louisville on May 30.

Nambawa will be competing in two events, the triple jump and the long jump. The Kampala, Uganda native is currently ranked second in the nation in the triple jump behind Florida State University’s Kim Williams.

“She probably has the best chance out of all of them of winning her events,” head coach Dean Hayes said. “She’s one of the better jumpers in the nation and works hard to be consistent.”

Nambawa will also compete in the In-ternational Association of Athletics Fed-

erations World Championships in Berlin this August.

Cox, an Antioch, Tenn. native, will compete in the shot put after finishing fourth at the regional meet. It will be her first NCAA Championships, capping a year in which she broke her own record at the Tiger Track Classic in Auburn, Ala.

“She’s improved very much this year,” Hayes said. She set her lifetime best in the javelin and discus as well as shot put, and her enthusiasm is contagious.

“She works hard and wants to com-pete, and should have a good chance of doing very well.”

Morgan, a Georgetown, Grand Cay-man native, will compete in the triple jump after finishing second overall with a jump of 16.31m, his lifetime best.

“He’s made a lot of progress,” Hayes said. “Having only just learned the tri-ple jump and still winning the Sun Belt championship in that event.

“He’s a great competitor that works hard academically as well as on the field.”

Gbagbeke will compete in the long jump after a fifth place finish at the regional meet with a lifetime best of 7.71m. The Oginibo, Nigeria native has been hampered by an ankle injury most of the year, but Hayes said he is expect-ing a good showing.

“He has a lot of talent and this injury has really held him back,” Hayes said. “He works hard and is really learning the team concept after growing up where track is really a strict individual sport.

“Hopefully he can get through his practices without hurting too much and make a good showing, then get some much needed healing time.”

SPORTSMTSUSIDELINES.COM June 10, 2009 5

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Track and field stars headed to NCAA finalsBy Stephen CurleyAssistant Sports Editor

Photo by Richard Lowe, sports editor

Sophomore Brittany Cox is one of four ath-letes representing MT in this week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Check our web si te for updates on MT’s athletes

at the NCAA Outdoor Championships

MTSUSIDELINES.COM June 10, 2009 6

Sidelines welcomes letters to the editor from all read-ers. Please e-mail letters to slopinio@mtsu.edu and include your name and phone number for verification. Sidelines will not publish anonymous letters. We re-serve the right to edit grammar, length and content.

Letters Policy Sidelines is the editorially independent, non-profit student-produced newspaper of Middle Tennessee State University. Sidelines publishes Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters and Wednesday during June and July. The opinions expressed herein are those of individual writers and not necessarily Sidelines or MTSU.

John Kroeslde-online.com“Last-Ditch Effort”

Guns, alcohol don’t mixThey’ve done it again.

The Tennessee legislature recently overruled Gov. Phil Bredesen and passed the “guns in restaurants” bill, allowing patrons to carry guns into establish-ments that serve alcohol.

The law becomes ef-fective on July 14. Which means we have a solid month to eat in safety or a solid month to be denied our Second Amendment rights – whichever thought process suites you best.

Currently, it is illegal to carry a firearm into an es-tablishment that serves al-cohol – whether the person has a carry permit or not. There are two exceptions: on-duty police officers and owners of the establish-

ment.What the new gun law

does is amend the current law by adding in another exception. Patrons that have handgun permits can enter establishments that serve alcohol as long as the restaurant is not age-restricted (i.e. 18 and up) and the person carrying

the gun isn’t drinking.But restaurant owners

aren’t left in the dust. Busi-ness owners can choose to deny access to people car-rying guns – even those with permits. To do this, proper signage citing Ten-nessee Codes Annotated (TCA) 39-17-1359 is re-quired. The citation refers to a business owner’s right to refuse patrons who pos-sess weapons.

To be fair, I’ve never been a big fan of guns. I think there is something crass and unromantic about them. It seems wrong that something that takes very little effort to fire can have such devastating and far-reaching consequences.

But I’ve never had a prob-

lem with other people own-ing guns legally. I know friends in college that keep them in their apartments be-cause, let’s face it, not every part of Murfreesboro is safe.

I’m just bothered a little by the fact that I might have to sit next to a person pack-ing heat while I’m trying to enjoy my happy hour beer.

I understand that the re-strictions are there to keep other, non-carrying patrons safe. The law just causes people who don’t choose to exercise the Second Amend-ment to pause and consider the possible results to an equation that adds firearms and alcohol in the same public area.

Yeah, WhateverAndy Harper

Guns, Page 7

Quotes on the gun issue

“A lot of the people who keep a gun at home for safety are the same ones who refuse to wear a seat belt.”

- George Carlin

“As long as there are guns, the individual that wants a gun for a crime is going to have one and going to get it.”

- Ronald Reagan

“I am a lifetime member of the NRA, I support our Constitutional right to bear arms and am a proponent of gun safety programs.”

- Sarah PalinQuotes from www.thinkexist.com and www.ontheissues.org

Have an opinion? Go online or write a letter to the Editor - slopinio@mtsu.edu

What if someone decides to go into a restaurant armed? What if someone who is drinking engages that person in a scuffle?

I’ll let your imagination fill in the blanks. People who support this amendment to Tennessee’s gun laws will probably think of the best-case scenario – the armed and sober citizen bringing order with his shiny piece. People who fear this amendment prob-ably have a grimmer outcome in their heads.

One of the examples used to petition against the law was the case at the Me-morial Boulevard O’Charley’s. Assis-

tant manager Nader Bahmanziari was fatally shot on Feb. 3, 2008 by Antonio Alexander.

Unfortunately, this example can be seen as defective. Alexander was not attempting to enter the restau-rant during normal hours – instead forcing an employee to unlock the unopened restaurant so he could rob it. But the possibility of a simi-lar situation still lingers.

As a side note, a group of restaurant owners in Tennessee spoke out against this law. They were afraid that it would hurt their businesses. They were afraid for their customers and for their em-ployees.

Regardless, it seems that we the peo-ple have finally gotten what we have

been asking of the government for years – more responsibility. Frankly, this amendment isn’t as much about a gun owner’s rights as it is about al-lotting a larger playing field to extend those rights onto.

It’s hard to tell what the ultimate outcome will be. For the time be-ing, I don’t see restaurants like Ap-plebee’s and Chili’s loosing any busi-ness – whether they allow people to pack heat or not. It will be interest-ing though to see which restaurants in Murfreesboro will opt out of al-lowing patrons to carry firearms.

Andy Harper is a senior journalism major and can be reached at slopinio@mtsu.edu.

OPINIONSMTSUSIDELINES.COM June 10, 2009 7

This past week, the Tennessee State House of Representatives barely passed a bill that would stop the coal miners of Ten-nessee from dropping higher levels of sele-nium into our water.

With only 49 votes, it shows the residents of Tennessee just how much the govern-ment cares about the good Southern peo-ple that live here.

Moreover, it actually shows how many people in this state are aware of what is go-ing on.

In a statistical analysis from the Ten-nessee Department of Elections, the total voter turnout was 66.34 percent. This is during one of the largest and most con-troversial elections we have had in this country, ever.

If the voter turnout was that low in No-vember, just imagine how many people knew about the selenium in the water – much less discussed how they felt about the problem to a representative.

There is a lot going on in the state leg-islature right now. Last week, the House also overrode Gov. Phil Bredesen’s veto on a bill that will allow people to carry guns in bars.

The reality here is that our state govern-ment wants to solve problems while also representing its constituents. It is not able to do both of those things without active participation by the people.

In a state that spends much of its empha-sis on duel federalism, to make sure that the power of the government lies in tan-gible grasp of its people, we as Tennesse-ans spend little time making sure that the people we put in charge know what their state feels.

Moreover after putting these elect-ed officials in a playground for the wealthy, we then forget to actually follow what decisions they are mak-ing for our lovely state. We go out like good Southerners, fill out our ballot and drop it into a box and as that pa-per leaves our hand so does our need to continue caring about government officials. We’ve made our difference, time to move on. Wrong.

It is hard to fathom that last week a bill almost passed allowing coal miners, any-one, to dump selenium into our drinking water and there were no protests, no public outcries and honestly no one really even knew.

GUNSFROM PAGE 6

Gen. assembly makes good call on selenium

FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD

MTSUSIDELINES.COM June 10, 2009 8

FEATURESWill you take more than 12

hours if the price of tuition is raised?

Have you read sidney mcpHee’s update report on tHe budget cuts?

With all the pressures of paying tuition, writing papers and taking exams, college students have a tendency to forget to pay attention to their health. Many young peo-ple believe themselves invincible to severe and even life-threatening diseases because they feel they are in the prime of their life, until it strikes them.

Now a 19-year-old sophmore at MTSU, Brenda Navarro didn’t believe that some-one her age could contract a disease as se-vere as cancer until a year and a half ago, when she was diagnosed with breast can-cer.

“When I first found out I had breast can-cer at age 18, I assumed doctors were over-reacting because there was no way that an 18-year-old woman could have breast cancer,” Navarro says. “But a few months later when I had to undergo chemotherapy and was constantly sick and exhausted, I realized that it was more serious than I thought.”

Navarro, who is now a sophomore at MTSU, says she was encouraged to visit her doctor by a significant other.

“I was encouraged to get checked up by someone I was dating at the time, because we had felt a lump in my left breast,” she says. “Sure enough, I had three cancerous tumors in my left breast about one centi-meter in diameter, and there were cancer cells around my lymph nodes.”

Navarro says nobody in her family has ever been diagnosed with breast cancer, so it was greatly unexpected for her. She says she has attempted to get information about her family’s health history, however, the only person known that was ever diag-nosed with cancer was her grandmother, but it was due to chain smoking.

Currently, Navarro is going through seven weeks of radiation therapy that takes place five times a week as part of her reha-bilitation after her recent lumpectomy.

She says her coping strategy has mainly consisted of keeping busy.

Navarro works one full-time job, one part-time job, is a full-time student and is involved in several breast cancer organiza-tions such as Breast Friends.

Breast Friends is an Atlanta-based breast cancer support network that provides indi-vidual emotional support, practical assis-tance, and information and resources for breast cancer patients, their families and friends.

The program is staffed by breast cancer survivors, private citizens and profession-als in the community who have a special interest in breast cancer.

Even though breast cancer is more com-mon in older women, WebMD.com says 5 percent of all breast cancer cases occur in women under 40 years old, and that num-

ber is steadily increasing. While it is difficult to detect, WebMD.

com says that when breast cancer strikes in young women, it tends to strike more ag-gressively and it requires more aggressive treatment.

Another unique medical issue for young patients is that their survival rate is slightly lower than the survival rate for older breast cancer patients. In a study published in the “Journal Watch General Medicine” researchers divided patients up into three groups by age, and found that the 5-year disease-free survival rate in the youngest group was only 44 percent when compared with 59 percent and 72 percent in the two older groups.

The experiment also found that even though breast cancer is lower in younger women, it appears to progress more rapidly than in older women.

Since there are several different types of breast cancer, treatment for young women who survive breast cancer is dependent on

what kind of breast cancer they have. It is possible that younger women may develop the same type of cancer that is seen in an 80- year-old woman.

This, however, does not mean that younger women and older women have equally exclusive breast cancers, but it does emphasize the fact that younger women generally have a more aggressive mix of cancers.

Younger patients are much more likely to receive chemotherapy, which lasts from three to six months.

Herconnection.com says human epider-mal growth factor (HER2) is the disease that younger patients are more likely to have. Because of this, they receive a treat-ment called trastuzumab for one year.

Although breast cancer may not be pre-vented, early detection and prompt treat-ment can significantly improve a woman’s chance of surviving breast cancer.

More than 90 percent of women whose breast cancer is found in an early stage will survive.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that all women 20 years old and older should perform monthly breast self-examinations to catch breast cancer early on.

It is also highly recommended that wom-en younger than 40 years old with a family history or other risk factors for breast can-cer should discuss their risk and an appro-priate screening schedule with their health care providers.

Although a diagnosis of breast cancer is less frequent in younger women, it is still estimated that about 14,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States in women younger than 40 years of age.

In 2009, the ACS predicts 192,370 fe-males will die from breast cancer.

outh proves to be no indicator of healthStudent struggles with breast cancer, encourages others to seek medical adviceBy ranicka dialContributing Writer The american cancer Society research says in 2009:

27% of cancer cases in women will be breast cancer•

An estimated 15% of cancer deaths in women will result from •

breast cancer

The center for disease control and Prevention says:Breast cancer is the seventh leading cause of death for women in •

the United States

In 2005 (the most recent year numbers that are available):•

- 186,467 women and 1,764 men developed breast cancer.

- 41,116 women and 375 men died from breast cancer.

For more information, visit www.cancer.org, or www.cdc.gov

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