Pink ribbons. Yellow wristbands. Shirts exclaiming, “I love boobs!” Car washes, fundraising walks, t-shirt sales and special events— college campuses everywhere are now advertising cancer. And students have joined together to address the second leading cause of death in the U.S.

“Cancer awareness has reached new levels and I think that media has helped propagate that,” says Kristin Hennessey, the campaign manager of the central New York chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Desperate Housewives, The Family Stone, and Lance Armstrong have introduced cancer into the mainstream media. People aren’t afraid to talk about it.

“Twenty-five years ago you didn’t talk about cancer. It wasn’t acceptable,” says Daniel Wald, co-chair of Ithaca College’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (CAC). “Now it is.”

Wald, a junior biochemistry major, has led Ithaca’s CAC to become the college’s biggest active member club with 60-75 members attending each week. The club brings speakers on campus, initiates advertising campaigns, and participates in fundraising walks.

“There are a couple of reasons why students are more active in these events,” Hennessey says. “Most people, by the time they’ve reached their college years, have known somebody who has been personally impacted by a cancer.”

A bright, energetic character, Wald has found his passion in cancer awareness and fundraising because he lost his mother to a blood cancer, myeloma, six years ago.

“My mom was always thoughtful, she always went out of her way for others,” Wald says. “And that’s how I live my life. It pushes me.”

One way in which he pushes himself is in raising money for the Relay for Life. The Relay for Life is an overnight event to demonstrate the idea that cancer never sleeps. Hosted by the American Cancer Society, the relay is designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for cancer research. Over three million Americans participate in the Relay for Life, most of whom are college students.

Last year, Wald set a goal to raise $3,351, the number of the days that passed between his mother’s misdiagnosis and her death. He sent more than 200 letters and e-mails to his family and friends, and received more than $6,000 for the walk.

“Ever since I’ve started Relay for Life, I’ve been the top fundraiser,” Wald says. “I always joke if someone beats me, I’ll take them out on a date…but no one has.”

In the past three years, Wald has raised over $10,000.

The Relay for Life at Cornell last year came in second per capita in the country for fund raising. With 2,500 participants, the event earned $213,000.

Similarly to Relay for Life, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosts Light the Night walks. Their mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. It is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to finding cures for blood cancers. Hennessey is the campaign manager for four walks, the biggest of which is in Syracuse. She said the Syracuse University team has had more than 150 members for the past few years.