We Can Survive Shines A Light
Calm skies, cool breeze, and good vibes took over the Hollywood Bowl as many people joined together to celebrate life and share awareness of Breast Cancer Awareness. From survivors to friends to family, all toke time out of their day to educate those not affected by breast cancer and give encouragement to young survivors of breast cancer.
“Seeing them kind of take the night off from cancer,” is an enjoyable moment to witness, expresses Chris Booker, afternoon host on 97.1AMP Radio and host for We Can Survive for the past 5 years. Booker was referring to young breast cancer survivors, attendees of the concert.
The sold out We Can Survive event, a CBS Radio high profile concert, took over the Hollywood Bowl on October 21, 2017, with a star studded line up of performers from Sam Smith, to Harry Styles, Pink and many more. The artists gathered together to recognize, support, and learn about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We Can Survive is an annual campaign to bring attention to and share information about the deadly disease. The event has taken place at the Hollywood Bowl since 2013. For every ticket sold, $2 is donated to the Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit organization oriented to support and educate younger women about breast cancer.
Jeremy and Kyle Klein, two young actors that were covering the story for social media stated, “[Breast cancer] is a thing that we can beat if we all put are minds to it and we can really just fix this problem within our lifetime and that's amazing.”
“For us [at AMP Radio] it’s a privilege and an honor to work with YSC, the Young Survivor Coalition because these women are ... phenomenal strong young women and that’s the key to this event, it’s young women surviving breast cancer,” Booker said.
The night started with a sing along performance from Khalid with his hit singles Location and Young Dumb & Broke to get the crowd on their feet. The night rolled on with touching performances from Sam Hunt, Kesha, Macklemore, all artists that have personal connections with breast cancer.
Sam Hunt sang his heart out as the sun went down, thanking the sold out arena and CBS for having him on the special night. Kesha and Macklemore then brought silence and emotion to the arena as they sang their recent duet of Good Old Days. Later on Kesha performed and dedicated her hit single Prayer to a long time fan's mother, a survivor of breast cancer. The fan, Nick, stood proud in the front row as Kesha announced he has attended 50 of her shows.
From dancing through Alessia Cara's performance to holding one another close during Kesha's performance, the noises in the crowd showed the satisfaction of the night. With a lineup full of talented artists, We Can Survive had an even bigger surprise for the crowd as they introduced the surprise guest as Niall Horan halfway through the night.
Niall Horan took to the stage to face the roaring crowd as he sang his hit singles This Town, and Slow Hands, as well as a song from his recently dropped album Flicker titled Too Much To Ask.
Horan was not the only former One Direction member to take the stage, as Harry Styles owned the stage a couple acts later, kicking off his performance with Carolina, a song from his self titled debut album. Styles thanked the crowd for having him and continued his strong performance. Things got inappropriate during his performance of Kiwi, as an audience member apparently attempted to feel Styles crotch as he knelt down on stage to sing. Styles handled it professionally as he finished the song, bowed to the crowd, blew a kiss and walked off.
The 5th annual We Can Survive Event ended with "punk princess" Pink walking through the crowd as she sang her 2001 Hit Get This Party Started along with her recent hit singles What About Us and Beautiful Trauma to close out the night.
Between each performance, videos played reminding the audience the main purpose of the night's event.
As breast cancer continues to spread, "Every year, more than 1,000 women under age 40 die from breast cancer." According to Youngsurvival.org. According to ssmhealth.com, a cancer care website, "A clinical breast exam (CBE) should be part of a periodic health exam." The website goes on to state that a CBE should be conducted "approximately every three years for women who are in their 20s and 30s and every year for women over 40."
Students at Santa Monica College that have paid the California State Mandated Health Fee, can ask for and about any medical concerns or assistance they may need at the SMC Health Services Center, located in the northeast corner of the Cayton Center Complex by the Cafeteria.
For further information regarding breast cancer visit Youngsurvival.org.