Breasts will be center stage at the National Finals Rodeo tonight, and it has nothing to do with prurient interests.

The theme of the rodeo tonight is "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" to raise awareness for breast cancer screening and research.

The 118 contestants and scores of workers at the Thomas & Mack Center will don pink shirts, ribbons, hats, pants or possibly underwear to bring attention to the disease that has touched so many families.

Tonight it's all about pink and it will have an even more special meaning for world champion calf roper Joe Beaver, and North Dakotan Ashley Andrews, the newly crowned 2007 Miss Rodeo America.

Beaver started the TETWP concept four years ago at the NFR when he began selling pink T-shirts as a tribute to his grandmother -- a breast cancer survivor. His dad died of cancer in October.

So far, Beaver says, sales of his shirts have generated more than $10,000 to the cause.

"Everybody gets into a take-take-take mode, but you have to give to take," Beaver says.

For Andrews, she hasn't experienced breast cancer but she spent much of this year battling cancer after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in January.

She has committed her reign as queen to furthering cancer awareness and research though she received a clean bill of health before the NFR after enduring chemotherapy treatments for several months.

Andrews was able to maintain her poise and confidence throughout her treatment and didn't let the loss of her hair distract her from goals or phase her for long.

A tough day for her was when she received a donated wig from Wigs Inc. in Dickinson, N.D.

"That was one of my hardest days, but when you look back it's just hair," she says. "What's important is what's inside and how you handle it."

That attitude alone makes her worthy of queen status. Her humor helps too.

"I tried every kind of hocus-pocus to keep it from falling out ... but I get more sleep now not worrying about my hair. And most of the girls in the pageant have wigs anyway."

In Canada, Miss Rodeo Canada, Tara Sergerie, will wear pink chaps tonight in support of the cause. She is spokesperson for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Her mom is a breast cancer survivor.

Pink chaps won't be limited to women.

Bull riders Wesley Silcox and Steve Woolsey will be wearing pink leather chaps made by Gary Wade at his Broken W Cowboys shop in Alamo. They were paid for by Craig Keough, a Southern Nevada rodeo support and owner of Star Nursery.

The chaps are autographed by the NFR bull riders and will be auctioned at 11 a.m. Thursday during the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association women's auxiliary luncheon at the South Point. Bids also can be made today at Flint Rasmussen's booth at Cowboy Christmas from noon to 1 p.m. or on the Internet at wsrodeo.com or swrodeo.com.

Proceeds will go to cancer research and the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund.

The Mirage is using pink lighting on its volcano waterfalls. Wrangler is donating $25,000 from the proceeds raised in the TETWP campaign to Las Vegas' Susan G. Komen Foundation chapter.

Wrangler also will announce today if it reached its goal of rasing $1 million for the effort this year.