ST. LOUIS — June 8 is the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk in St. Louis’ Tower Grove Park. Participants can register here.
One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, according to Komen officials, and nearly 44,000 Americans die of breast cancer each year.
But there are much larger, encouraging numbers for cancer research and support. Those larger numbers have dollar signs in front of them. Komen officials said they are the largest nonprofit funder of breast cancer research outside of the U.S. government.
Still, in her journey, Komen-Missouri client Paris Chatman has learned that numbers are not her friend.
“When my breast cancer was found, it was at stage zero,” Chatman said. “That's the stage where it's considered to be curable.”
Later, Chatman discussed a series of photos displayed in her living room.
“Here’s one of me in the hospital, after my mastectomy,” she said.
Chatman has learned to place her faith somewhere other than in the numbers.
“This is a collage of my support system,” she said, pointing to the photos. “It consists of my best friend, all of my family and just people who are very, very important in my life.”
Paris also got support from Komen-Missouri. The support she received after her breast cancer diagnosis was financial and physical. But there is more.
“It’s emotional support,” she said. “Because they actually have a helpline that you can call, and everything is catered to your specific needs. With the transition, the body imagery, and the depression I was dealing with, I needed help. And that's how I found my counselor.”
To date, Susan G. Komen has invested nearly $1.1 billion in breast cancer research. Komen has collaborated with more than 2,000 world-renowned breast cancer researchers leading to more than 3,100 research discoveries. The funding goes to people like Dr. Aimilia Gastounioti, at Washington University in St. Louis.
“This really offers a unique potential to really bring us closer to the realization of what we call precision medicine, which are individualized assessments, predictions and decisions based on risk profiles of patients,” Gastounioti said. “So, here on the ground, we're leveraging this cutting-edge technology of artificial intelligence to help better assess the risk of breast cancer development among Black women.”
Paris has learned that numbers don’t always paint an accurate picture.
“I also have one more photo,” she said. “It's kind of like a ‘before and after’ while I was in the hospital, demonstrating what I went through. It shows the progress from then until now. You know, I'm a much happier person.”
Susan G. Komen officials said they have helped reduce the breast cancer mortality rate in the U.S. by 43% since 1989.
For more information about breast cancer support, resources, or financial assistance, anyone can connect with a culturally responsive navigator at 1-877-GO-KOMEN, or by sending an email to helpline@komen.org.
The Opening Ceremony starts at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 9:30 a.m.