ST. LOUIS — (This video is scheduled to air... likely for the first time at noon... on Tuesday, March 5.)
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 on June 8.
While there are other changes, the organization remains true to its primary color.
“The story is that in Komen’s community, people crossed the street because they knew Susan had breast cancer. People thought it was contagious,” Dawna Currigan, development director for the Missouri and Kansas Susan G. Komen Foundation, said. “So, we've come a long way in 40 years.”
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, which was phenomenal back in 2012,” Currigan said. "The sea of people walking down the St. Louis streets was amazing.”
New place. Same pink.
“My relationship with Komen goes back to 2000. It was the second year the Komen Race for the Cure then was in town, and KSDK was (its) media partner,” 5 On Your Side veteran anchor and reporter Kay Quinn said.
Same partner. Same power.
“Now, Komen has made me a BigWig!” Quinn said.
Komen has recruited a crop of corporate professionals, or bigwigs, across the country to help raise money for breast cancer research. Dozens of them gathered for an online meeting in early February. All of them were wearing a full head of pink hair.
“I never had pink hair,” Quinn said. “It just sounded like fun, and a way to approach a serious topic in a lighthearted way. So, I'm hoping that from Feb. 16 - March 26, all of my friends, family, viewers, anyone who sees me wearing my pink wig will share my joy at participating and make a donation."
"No amount is too small. Anything you can give helps," Quinn said. "I have a $5,000 goal fundraising goal and I'm hoping to go past that.”
Quinn is not alone.
Dr. Ron Bose, a Washington University oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center is also a Komen bigwig. While he’s good-natured about being portrayed with a headful of pink hair, he’s very serious about breast cancer research.
“We focus on HER2 positive breast cancer, which is an aggressive type of breast cancer for which there are specific treatments," Bose said. "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 prognoses for breast cancer. It represents about 1/5 of breast cancer cases.”
Bose received two breast cancer research grants from Komen that will help form a base of knowledge. T
“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 officials said the organization is second only to the federal government when it comes to funding breast cancer research.
“I think our long-standing relationship in all of the communities that we're in, and actually 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 piece of the puzzle -- the research -- is really, really key to what we do,” Currigan said.
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.
