LEBANON, Pa. - Lebanon Valley College student-athletes will wear pink shoelaces in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in partnership with the Good Samaritan Health System.

The Good Samaritan Pink Shoelaces Campaign provides student-athletes with a great tool to remind their loved ones – moms, aunts, grandmothers, friends – to get screened for breast cancer. The Good Samaritan Health System sponsors the campaign to encourage every woman who is 40 and over to get an annual mammogram. LVC's student-athletes are joining those from every high school in Lebanon County in wearing the pink shoelaces in competition during October.

"Early detection is smart and saves lives," said Dr. Karla Ludwig, medical director for Good Samaritan Oncology & Hematology Associates. "It's critical to catch and treat cancer early." According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed and approximately 39,520 women were expected to have died from the disease in 2011.

Participating for LVC will be members of the men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, ice hockey, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball teams. The shoelace campaign coincides with the women's soccer team's third annual Pink on the Pitch month, which has them wearing pink jerseys at home in October to be auctioned off to benefit the American Cancer Society. Football will also hold a pink game on Oct. 27 when they host Delaware Valley; swimming, not to be outdone by their shoe-wearing colleagues, will wear pink caps for their second annual Pink Meet on Oct. 23 against Albright.

Lebanon Valley College has a long history of supporting cancer awareness in the community, including the campus' annual Relay For Life, the women's basketball team's popular Pink Game, and other charitable events by the swimming, field hockey, and football programs.

For 122 years, the Good Samaritan Health System has served the health care needs of Lebanon County. The Good Samaritan Hospital is a modern, fully-equipped, fully-accredited 172-bed acute care facility that offers complete inpatient and outpatient care, as well as an inpatient rehabilitation program. The health system also provides services at many other sites located throughout Lebanon County.

For more information on GSHS and breast cancer screening, visit gshleb.org.

Above: Representing some of LVC's fall teams are (from left): Danny Willey (ice hockey), Jon Riley (men's cross country), Alyssa Miller (women's cross country), Stevi Laird (women's soccer), Cam Alexander (men's soccer), and  Nate Kauffman (football)