The boobie bus is here.
And it is fighting breast cancer. Two boobies at a time.
The car is part of the Feel Your Boobies Foundation, a national campaign to increase breast cancer awareness among young women. The group spread their message yesterday on the campus as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, emphasizing their “Feel Your Boobies” slogan as a way to catch breast cancer early.
The non-profit group sells a collection of apparel emblazoned with their signature slogan online. But, as part of a new initiative to the campaign, the group has started traveling to universities in the so-called “boobie bus” to speak and reach out to large groups of women about early detection.
“Something as simple as saying, ‘feel your boobies,’ can save other people’s lives,” founder of the campaign Leigh Hurst said.
The bus is actually a hot pink car covered in magnets that say “steal a magnet, spread the word,” which people are encouraged to pull off the car and take with them. Sexual health program coordinator Alli Matson, Colleges Against Cancer and Beta Sigma Gamma teamed up to bring the car and the group to the campus.
Hurst spoke to a crowd of around 50 yesterday in Van Munching Hall. Hurst was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer at the age of 33. She detected her lump, not by conducting official self-breast exams, but simply feeling her breasts in the shower and noticing a change.
Hurst went through four rounds of chemotherapy over the next six months. She said she lost her hair, but not her strength or her spirit.
Hurst has now been in remission for five years. One summer after her treatment, she designed shirts with the slogan, “Feel Your Boobies,” for friends, as a joke and a reminder of the test that saved her life. The joke eventually evolved into a whole product line of water bottles, tote bags and even thongs carrying Hurst’s unconventional message.
“Your life can change in an instant, and it can seem so bad, but you can turn it into something good,” Hurst said.
During her speech, Hurst was laid back and positive, emphasizing the importance of optimism. Even during the hardest times of her treatment, she said she made it through with a little laughter and support from friends and family.
“You could be the biggest bitch in the world or at your rawest moments, and you’re still loved,” Hurst said.
Hurst encouraged questions from the audience, and she spent a large part of the roughly hour-long presentation addressing individual concerns.
“I’ve never had so many great questions,” Hurst said. “I was really inspired by that.”
Sophomore landscape architecture major Courtney Shea attended the event because her grandmother was a breast cancer victim and she knew she was at a higher risk for developing the disease.
“I wanted to learn about detection,” Shea said. “It’s important to encourage awareness.”
Many students were moved by Hurst’s message.
“It was really inspirational,” freshman chemical engineering major Amanda Lafleur said. “She connected to everyone at our age.”
Freshman math major Jillian Luicci, who attended the event with Lafleur, said she felt Hurst really connected with her younger audience.
“It was more of a discussion then a presentation,” Luicci said. “We’ll definitely be feeling our boobies tonight.”
redding@umdbk.com
