ST. LOUIS — Remember the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure? It’s now the Komen More Than Pink Walk and it takes place in Tower Grove Park, June 8. While there are other changes, the organization is remaining true to its primary color.
Dawna Currigan is the development director for the Missouri and Kansas Susan G. Komen Foundation.
“The story is that in Komen’s own community, people crossed the street because they knew Susan had breast cancer. People thought it was contagious. So, we've clearly come a long way in 40 years,” said Currigan.
Or, for that matter, in 20 years. Komen transitioned from the Race for the Cure to the More Than Pink Walk in 2019.
We grew to 72,000 participants,” said Currigan, “which was phenomenal back in 2012. And, you know, the sea of people walking down the Saint Louis streets was amazing.”
A new place, but the same pink and the same power. At a virtual computer meeting in February, dozens of people turned out, tuned in, and gave their testimony for why they were willing to wear a bright pink wig.
These corporate professionals are Komen BigWigs, and they’re raising money for breast cancer research. Dr. Ron Bose, a Washington University oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center, is a big wig. While he’s good-natured about being portrayed with a headful of pink hair, he’s very serious about his breast cancer research.
“We focus on Her2 positive breast cancer,” said Bose, “which is an aggressive type of breast cancer for which there are specific treatments. Back in the 1990s, it was one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer. But with treatments that have come out over the past 20 years, it is now one of the best prognosis types of breast cancer. It represents about a fifth of breast cancer cases.”
Bose has received two breast cancer research grants from Komen. That research is helping to form a base of knowledge.
“The results of those grants are published in scientific journals that anyone can access,” he said. “They are presented at national medical or scientific meetings, and they form part of the medical literature.”
Komen - contributing to breast cancer research lexicon. Komen officials say the organization is second only to the federal government when it comes to funding breast cancer research.
Currigan added, “I think our long-standing relationship in all of the communities that we're in, and we're across the United States, is that Komen is known to be the organization to turn to when you need breast cancer information. That that piece of the puzzle - the research - is really, really key to what we do.”
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 helpline@komen.org. You can also register in advance for the Komen More Than Pink Walk.