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FACULTY, Featured, FEATURED, NEWS, RESEARCH, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, Student, Student Profile, Uncategorized

TSU leads Breast Cancer Awareness Month with education and advocacy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, Tennessee State University has made strides in advocating for awareness, education, and action. Throughout October, the campus has contributed to several initiatives to educate students about breast health, honor survivors, and contribute to cancer research.

One of those efforts came from Dr. Dorsha James, TSU’s Director of Health Services, who led a hands-on educational session every Tuesday and Thursday during October. Students were invited to the TSU Health Center to learn how to perform breast self-exams, using a simulated breast model to understand what to check for and how to recognize abnormalities.

Dr. Dorsha James, right, demonstrates breast self-exam techniques to TSU student Cameron Bennett, left, using a simulated breast model at the Health Center.

“With it being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I wanted to create this effort because I’ve had students coming in with breast pain and not really understanding what’s going on,” Dr. James said. “I decided to offer my services and the nurses’ services on how to do exams so people know what their normal is.”

Dr. James emphasized the importance of early detection, especially for Black women, who face a higher risk of breast cancer. “Especially among Black women, we are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women are. We also have the lowest five-year breast cancer survival rate. So, with family history, that’s a high risk,” she noted.

Approximately one in eight women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their life, according to BreastCancer.org. Despite advances in screening and treatment, the number of people diagnosed continues to rise.

Dr. James’ program reached dozens of TSU students, including Cameron Bennett, a junior biology major, and Brayana Peacock, a sophomore studying nursing. Bennett is passionate about cancer research. “I participated in breast cancer research over the summer, and my family has been impacted by this disease before,” Bennett shared. “I think it’s extremely important because cancer disproportionately affects the Black community, and it’s great that TSU is providing these services, so we know how to protect ourselves.”

Brayana Peacock, left, examines a simulated breast model for abnormalities with guidance from Dr. Dorsha James.

Peacock echoed the same sentiment, saying the simulation helped her learn new skills. “The fact that you can come to TSU’s Health Center and get a demonstration of how to check yourself for free is pretty good,” she said. “I definitely will be doing these checks on myself.”

Beyond individual efforts, TSU students took part in community events, including the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Nashville through the McNair Scholars program. Bennett, along with students like Janasica Joyner, said she walked in honor of loved ones and to show solidarity with those affected by cancer. “I decided to participate in honor of my grandfather who passed away from cancer two years ago,” said Joyner, a chemistry major from Memphis. “It’s a great way to advocate in a positive way and support the community.”

TSU students participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Nashville as part of the McNair Scholars program community events

For the second year in a row, Bennett also hosted an event in honor of breast cancer awareness. She and fellow TSU students are writing letters to encourage cancer survivors, which they plan to deliver to the Cancer Center at Vanderbilt. “I think the university is doing a great job spreading awareness, and I hope these efforts continue,” added Joyner, who looks forward to more TSU events supporting the cause.

TSU’s commitment to cancer awareness extends beyond the color pink and the month of October. In 2021, the Meharry Medical College/Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center/Tennessee State University Partnership (MVTCP) received renewed five-year funding. This supports the continued efforts to eliminate cancer health disparities and a ongoing contribution to the research and health care field.

Dr. James encourages students to take advantage of the free resources available at TSU’s Health Center, located in Kean Hall, and reminds them that early detection can be life-saving. “I want younger people to become familiar with their bodies and what their breasts look like,” she said. “This is an opportunity to learn how to feel for abnormalities and know what to look for.”

She also highlighted key breast cancer screening recommendations. Women should begin yearly mammograms at age 40, and younger individuals, starting at age 25, should receive health provider exams every three years. She stressed that men are not exempt from breast cancer risks and should also stay informed about their health.

As TSU wraps up Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the university continues to advocate and educate all while offering vital health resources to its students, the Nashville community and beyond.

FACULTY, Featured, RESEARCH, Uncategorized

TSU Health Sciences Experts Share Advice For Students, People Concerned About Contracting Coronavirus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The coronavirus has existed for years, causing people to have respiratory infections, essentially colds.  However, Tennessee State University public health experts say the current outbreak is the result of a new strand, and that researchers are quickly trying to develop an antiviral drug.

TSU experts say students and Middle Tennessee residents can take precautionary measures to minimize their chances of contracting the coronavirus.

Dr. Wendelyn Inman, associate professor and interim Masters of Public Health program director at TSU, held an in-depth discussion with students in her Health Conditions In Functions and Disabilities Class about the coronavirus.

“The best protection is to get immunized to what we know. Many people are probably so worried about the coronavirus that they are getting the flu,” she explains.  “When the flu season starts, I always recommend to everyone the flu shot. When your immune system is alert, and it is alerted by the flu shot, other things don’t hit it as hard.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are 15 persons in the United States who have tested positive for the COVID-19, the official name given to this new coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan China. An East Tennessee woman recently tested positive for the coronavirus when she and her husband were about to leave quarantine on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan.

Brenda K. Batts

Brenda K. Batts, assistant professor and director of clinical education at TSU, says they should not be fearful because of the effective quarantining of people who have tested positive for the virus. However, she says there are still preventive measures that can be taken.

“Just really be very cautious about people who have coughs and colds and have high temperatures. If you are experiencing that, get checked by your physician, but don’t expose others or yourself,” Batts says. ”Make sure you use lots of hand washing and sanitizing techniques, such as when you go to gas stations, restaurants or whenever you go anywhere in the public. Keep some hand sanitizer with you and clean your hands very well.”

Coronavris symptoms, which can last from 2-14 days, include runny nose, fever, headache, sore throat, feeling unwell, and cough. To prevent the disease, the CDC recommends: washing hands; avoiding touching eyes, nose, mouth with unwashed hands; avoiding close contact with people who are sick; staying home when sick; covering cough or sneeze with tissue; and cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces.

Robyn Hanna, a senior public health major who works as a patient care technician at St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville, says she’s not concerned about contracting the virus at work because of the thorough precautionary measures they are instructed to take.

“As soon as you walk through the doors, there’s a sign, ‘If you have any of these symptoms, here’s a mask. Put it on.’ It’s at every exit and every entrance,” says Hanna, a Mississippi Gulf Coast native.

“Working on the floors we know people that are diagnosed with diseases.  If they are being tested for it, they still get the precautionary items on the door. All the nurses and doctors and techs are vaccinated.  That’s a must at the hospital.”

Fellow students Joseph Racine and Meleah Haley have varying concerns regarding the disease that recently surfaced in China. Racine works as a car maintenance specialist at the Nashville International Airport when not attending classes. The senior occupational therapy major says he has noticed travelers at the airport wearing personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks. Racine says he is not afraid of contracting the virus.

“Most of the time that I am dealing with the rental cars that I touch, I have on gloves.  Most of us wear gloves, but the people who don’t, you just kind of let them know, ‘You might want to put on some gloves,’” says Racine.

Haley, a senior health science major with a minor in public health, says she is concerned about the virus, primarily because of her upcoming travel plans.

“I’ll be taking an airplane. I’ll be going to Miami. Everybody knows that’s a place where a lot of people are,” says Haley, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native who is considering wearing a protective mask while flying.  “I am really concerned about that. I’m even concerned about being in the airport and being on the airplane with all these cases of coronavirus.  I don’t feel threatened at the university.  I don’t necessarily feel threatened in the community, but I am definitely going to be alert.”

Dr. Wendelyn Inman, associate professor and interim Masters of Public Health program director at TSU, discussing coronavirus with students. (TSU News Service, Michael McLendon)

Dr. Inman supports wearing a mask while traveling, she says students and professors should understand that wearing masks to class for protection may create suspicion that they have contracted the virus.

“If you wear a mask, it is just as protective for you as the person wearing the mask to keep you from catching something,” she says. “But, if you are on a college campus and you put one on because you are concerned, everybody thinks you have it.”

Batts says students and employees who feel sick should not attend class or visit campus.

“I do think when students or faculty have colds or fevers, and they are coughing, that they should not be coming to campus.  They should be seen to make sure they don’t have any form of that virus,” she says. “Most of the time people transport any type of respiratory virus to the environment by tabletops, instruments, equipment and labs.”

Walretta H. Chandler, TSU’s Student Health Services nurse, says students experiencing flu-like symptoms should visit the university’s health center located in in the Floyd-Payne Campus Center, Kean Hall, Room 304. Students can also call (615) 963-5291 to schedule an appointment.

Visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html to learn more about the coronavirus. For more information on TSU’s College of Health Sciences, visit http://www.tnstate.edu/health_sciences/. 

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a  premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees.  TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee.  With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students  with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.