UNIVERSITY PARK, PA-- A new study published yesterday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute conducted jointly by the Penn State University and the National Science Foundation (NSF) concluded that dancing for extended periods of time may cause cancer.

             The release of this study corresponds to the 28th annual dance marathon, affectionately known as THON, which occurred this past weekend, ironically in an effort to raise money for the families of children with cancer.

             Head researcher for the study, Rachel Trouters, stated “We have known for many years that doing an activity for 48 hours or more can cause hallucinations, fatigue, hysterics, almost comparable to being tortured, however, this is the first study that linked this self-styled martyrdom to cancer.”

Students participate in THON 2001 in an effort to raise money for cancer treatment.

             The three year study compared Penn State students who had danced at THON to those who have not. Those who did not dance have a 39% less chance of getting cancer later in life.

             We hypothesize that staying awake and dancing for 48 hours increases a person’s chance of getting a mutation in the transcription process of DNA replication. A tired person body is more fatigued, thus a greater chance for replication errors occur in the exhausted individuals.

             When informed of the scientific findings, a moraler for Alpha Chi Omega fraternity stated, “Maybe a few of the dancers might have an increased risk of getting cancer later in life, is that too much of a price to pay? THON is for the children. The children.”

             Janet McBridge (senior-- women’s studies), a first year dancer in THON this year, was overcome by fatigue during the 39th hour of the dance marathon and reluctantly had to discontinue her dancing efforts.

             “I was forced to stop (dancing)” said a dejected McBridge, “I fainted on the dance a few times and started coughing up blood, but that’s no big deal, I could have kept going. I’d danced 48 hours for the children. The children.”

             This year’s THON raised over $3 million dollars for the The Four Diamonds fund and is expected to go on for many years to come despite the results of this study.