Katherine Repasky | assistant editor

Pink, packed baskets filled the tables of the Gormley Student Union Nitespot on Oct. 26, as students gathered to create cards of encouragement and assemble care packages for breast cancer patients.

The event was organized by Duquesne Student Government Association in collaboration with Dukes Against Cancer and the Duquesne Panhellenic Council. The care baskets will be delivered to patients at both UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.

For Duquesne students like sophomore pharmacy major Carlie Khoubbieh, the care baskets offered a simple, yet meaningful way to provide comfort to those going through treatment. She had personal connections to the event’s purpose.

“Seeing multiple people in my family fight through cancer and go through the treatment process and knowing how intense it is and how much it drains you, it really does mean something,” Khoubbieh said.

The care baskets included a blanket, a flower and a handwritten card, each of which were chosen to support patients in different ways.

Khoubbieh said that she particularly appreciated the inclusion of a blanket.

“I know people get cold during chemotherapy treatment, so giving something that they can use, it reminds them that they’re not alone,” she said.

For other students, the handwritten cards were especially meaningful, as they served as personal messages of support and encouragement to patients that students would likely never meet.

Laci Stern, a freshman nursing major, said the opportunity to personalize the cards aligned with her motivations for choosing her major.

“One of the reasons I went into nursing is mostly the bedside care and supporting patients while making them feel comfortable,” Stern said. “Making cards like this is going to help with that.”

Fellow nursing major Mia Marchetti said several members of her family have battled breast cancer. She said her experiences made her interested in supporting current cancer patients.

“I’m very inclined to do work for cancer patients or cancer research, and bring awareness about how cancer impacts so many different people in so many different ways,” Marchetti said.

While writing her cards, Marchetti wanted patients to know they are not alone in facing hard treatment.

“I was just writing about how everybody is loved, and they’re still supported, even though they’re suffering,” Marchetti said. “I feel like in hard times, it’s really important to make sure that people know that they’re still supported, and they’re still loved.”

For SGA President Mwango Kasuba, the collaboration for the event highlighted how each person’s campus involvement can contribute to the surrounding Pittsburgh community.

“UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital is very close to campus, as well as UPMC Hillman Cancer Center,” Kasuba said. “And giving back to the community is part of what ties especially to our mission at Duquesne: to serve God and serve the world.”

Similarly, Jameson Rusiewicz, president and co-founder of Dukes Against Cancer, said the event offered a simple way to connect all students to service.

“Despite all of our differences and our variety of groups and commitments, we all can come together for something like this and help support those who are in need,” Rusiewicz said.

He said he hopes to see more students get involved in the future.

Delaney James, vice president of the Panhellenic Council, said the event was especially meaningful to her because of its focus on women.

“Panhellenic is all about sisterhood and helping out your fellow woman,” James said. “Being able to extend not only past Greek life, but past Duquesne itself, and help women that we may never get to meet, but we’re still able to bring comfort to them, that’s awesome.”

She and Marchetti hoped the event would raise awareness for cancer outside of specific months like October.

“I feel like in any sort of hard time, it’s really important to make sure that people know that they’re still supported, and they’re still loved,” Marchetti said.

Katherine Repasky can be reached on repaskyk@duq.edu