Caring men think pink
Arizona firefighter and friends travel nation to support women with breast cancer

By Jill Coley (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, September 10, 2008



Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

People admire the pink firetruck parked at Northwoods Mall on Tuesday.


Mic Smith
The Post and Courier

Jocelyn Davis, a Charleston Southern University student from Spartanburg, signs the Pink Ribbon Tour firetruck Tuesday at Northwoods Mall in North Charleston. Davis lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 16.

Find out more
The Pink Ribbon Tour
Pink Ribbon Tour
Today

9 a.m.-1 p.m.
: Summerville Medical Center, 295 Midland Parkway, Summerville

2-5 p.m.
: Sears, Citadel Mall

7-8 p.m.
: Crossroads Leather, 1314 College Park Road, Summerville

9-10 p.m.
: Shooters, 1704 Old Trolley Road, Summerville
Real men wear pink. Dave Graybill, an Arizona firefighter, is challenging other men to don the color in support of women with breast cancer.


To get his message across, Graybill, 45, is driving across the United States in a pink firetruck with three other men, all outfitted in pink firefighter suits.


"I'm honoring the women who have to go through this," Graybill said. "You're not alone. We're there to support you.
"

People whose lives have been affected by the disease are invited to come out and sign the truck. Fifteen days into the two-month-long Pink Ribbon Tour, more than 4,000 signatures adorn the truck, which was paid for by a generous donor. The group takes donations.


Charleston Southern University senior Jocelyn Davis saw the conspicuous truck at Northwoods Mall on Tuesday and stopped to see what was going on. She signed it in honor of her mother, Joyce Brown, who died of breast cancer when Davis was 16.


"A lot of people do little things to help out, but

I've never seen a full-out tour," Davis said. "We know firetrucks help out.
"

Graybill and his fellow travelers, known as the Guardians of the Ribbon, are asking firefighters, police and community leaders to wear pink Oct. 25-27. The hope is that individual departments will spawn fundraising efforts.


Patricia Simon, a 20-year breast cancer survivor and president of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Lowcountry affiliate, said that the men who support women as they face down cancer are important.


Men can be diagnosed with breast cancer, but it is rare. The American Cancer Society estimates that of the nearly 185,000 breast cancer cases in 2008, less than 2,000 will be in men.


Although Graybill's family has not been directly affected by breast cancer, he was touched by the message of awareness that nearly half the population needs to hear.


Graybill is not affiliated with a particular nonprofit, and he is bankrolling much of the campaign himself, he said. "We do sell T-shirts for fuel and expenses," he said.


The Pink Ribbon Tour also carries a $250,000, 10-foot statue — another gift from a generous sponsor — that will be converted to a fountain after the tour.