In 1980, Susan Goodman Komen of Peoria, Illinois, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The mother of two, she died three years later at age 36. Her sister, Nancy Goodman Brinker, was left convinced that Susan would have had a better chance at survival had she known more about cancer and its treatment. In 1982--keeping a promise she had made to her sister as she lay dying--Nancy founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure and its global breast cancer movement. The Komen Race for the Cure is a result of that promise.
A Promise Glorified
"Growing up, Suzy and I were just about as close as two sisters can get," Nancy Brinker wrote for the 14th annual Komen Knoxville Race for the Cure website. "She was beautiful and kind and loving. The high school homecoming queen, the college beauty queen." Thirty years after her death, according to its website, Komen for the Cure is "the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists." It also is the world's largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. According to its website, Komen for the Cure "has invested nearly $1.5 billion in research and community health programs." Each Komen Race for the Cure is a 5K run/fitness walk. Since its inaugural race of 800 participants in Dallas in 1983, the series has expanded to nearly 150 races with 1.6 million participants on four continents.
Working Hard and Smart
Since 1982, Komen for the Cure has supported every major advance in the fight against breast cancer through research, treatment, and enhanced awareness. According to its education manager Susan Brown, an registered nurse, the Komen Foundation reaches the lives of breast cancer patients and survivors. "Our affiliates do a needs assessment so that they are very familiar with their community," Brown told the October 2007 online edition of The Family Groove magazine. "Because they understand the scope of services that are already available in their area, they are able to identify where the needs and the gaps are." Brown adds that 75 percent of the money raised in each affiliate community stays in that community to fund specific education, screening, and treatment programs.
The Pink Ribbons
In 1982, less than 30 percent of women over 40 received a clinical examination for cancer, according to the Komen for the Cure website. Today, more than 75 percent of such women get regular mammograms, which is the single most effective tool for early breast cancer detection. According to the Oct. 1, 2009, Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Massachusetts, sponsors of the 1991 Susan G. Komen for the Cure race in New York City were the first to give pink ribbons to breast cancer survivors participating in the run/walk. The ribbons have since become symbolic of the public's awareness of the disease, and the federal government now steers $900 million per year to breast cancer research, treatment and prevention. The total in 1982 was $30 million.
Survivors in the Millions
America's 2.5 million survivors of breast cancer are living testimonies to the effect of such an organized and well-funded grassroots force. The five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when it is identified before spreading beyond the breast, is now 98 percent. In 1982, the five-year survival rate was 74 percent. "All women are at risk for breast cancer," Brown told The Family Groove online magazine. "While it is true that the risk increases as a woman ages, it is possible for a young woman in her 20s or 30s to be diagnosed."
Global Reach
According to the Komen Foundation, breast cancer will strike more than 1.3 million women per year during the next 20 years. An estimated 11 million will die, most in the countries least prepared to help them. "Others," according to the foundation's website, "may never be diagnosed because medical help--even a simple breast exam--may be days away." Through the years, Komen for the Cure has partnered or funded programs in more than 50 countries.
