In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Binghamton University organizations came together to hold the second annual Boobie Bingo night.

Wednesday night’s event, which was held in the Old University Union, saw Real Education About College Health (REACH) partner with the Dean of Students, Haitian Student Association, Alpha Delta Phi Society and the University Counseling Center to promote breast cancer awareness through a game of bingo.

”It’s a tradition that every fall the REACH program does,” said Katie Ranish, a REACH intern and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience. “There are many events that happen throughout the month of October that can help raise breast cancer awareness, but this one has a fun twist and a lot of games and prizes.”

The bingo questions were informative, and included both breast cancer statistics and information about what makes someone more susceptible to the disease. There were multiple rounds of bingo and raffles throughout the night with educational information about breast cancer being discussed in between the games. Some of the prizes included gift cards to Sweet Frog and Cold Stone Creamery.

Marisa Smith, a bingo winner and a junior double-majoring in English and psychology, said she had family members who were affected by breast cancer and that people should be more aware of the disease.

“I think it’s important for everyone to know how big this is and it’s not just women who can be affected by it,” Smith said. “Everyone should be aware of how to check [themselves] and to make sure they know what the signs are.”

A new addition to the program this year was speaker Margaret Clancy-Darling, a former BU faculty member who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 53.

“I think … young people don’t pay attention to all of the information out there about self-exams and advocating for themselves if there is a problem,” Clancy-Darling said. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to spread awareness and to talk about early detection because that really is what it’s all about when it comes to survivorship.”

Self-checking and early breast cancer detection was a focus of the event, with multiple bingo questions and videos geared toward it. The Alpha Delta Phi Society also conducted a self-checking demonstration.

Clancy-Darling, who was pronounced cancer free on Oct. 13, said that patients should self-check early and often.

“You don’t want to have a diagnosis of stage-4 breast cancer when you’re 30,” Clancy-Darling said. “Do those things that everybody has been talking about here. Be familiar with your body; look at changes, don’t ignore them. It’s incredibly important for your health and for your future to not have to go through what I went through for the last 13 months.”

Tonika Forrester, a senior majoring in psychology and a member of the University Counseling Center, tabled for the organization, which offers a place for students to talk with someone if they or someone they know has been diagnosed. She said that she thought the fun nature of the event would help draw people in and better spread their message.

“With a topic that’s so touchy and hard to deal with, it makes it a little light-hearted to talk about in open dialogue,” Forrester said. “We are just here to support the idea of breast cancer awareness as well as how people should be able to cope with it.”