ST. LOUIS — Just one month remains until the June 8 Komen “More Than Pink” Walk fund-raiser in Tower Grove Park. For those dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis, it is a day for practical answers and emotional support.
Dawna Currigan is Komen Development Director in Missouri and Kansas.
“We will have sponsors here handing out items,” said Currigan, during a pre-event visit to the southeast corner of Tower Grove Park. “It will be a lot of activity and a lot of camaraderie between our survivors and their supporters.”
The organization and the event are in possession of a very important characteristic - momentum.
Currigan said with one month remaining before the More Than Pink Walk, it’s time to talk numbers and focus on much money will be raised for breast cancer research.
“We are ahead in numbers with fund-raising and registration,” she said. “We did open a little earlier this year, but we hope to hit 4,000 participants, as well as $400,000 in fund-raising and sponsorship.”
The Komen More Than Pink Walk is a day for cancer survivors and their loved ones to move forward together.
“I'm so excited,” said Komen client, Paris Chatman. “I can't wait to get to Tower Grove Park.”
It was at the event, last year, that Chatman learned about a massage therapist who specializes in women who have been through a surgical procedure.
“For women with who have gone through the mastectomy processes,” said Chatman. “She actually teaches them and shows them how to shower properly.”
Currigan said registering for the Komen walk is as easy as it is pink.
“You go to komen.org/stlouiswalk,” she said. “You could join a team,” she said. “We have many corporate teams. The St. Louis Cardinals and Siteman Cancer Center have teams you could join. Or, you could form your own team, or just register as an individual.”
Currigan said over the past 20 years, while continuing to fund breast cancer research, Komen’s support has grown to include mental health.
“That includes the mental health of young children, or spouses, and even the survivors, themselves,” said Currigan. “The mental health has become a key piece in families surviving as a unit through a breast cancer patient’s journey.”
In 2019, Komen officials transitioned from the previous event, which was held in downtown St. Louis, because the process of dealing with breast cancer is not a race.
“We are walking with you on your journey through breast cancer,” said Currigan. “So, not just our breast cancer survivors, but also our supporters who could feel like they were in it, together.”
Chatman said she found the knowledge she gained a year ago to be practical, and supportive.
“If you've had lymph nodes removed, there are special massage techniques my specialist is certified in,” she said. “So, when I tell you I’ve met a lot of great people through Komen, it’s been an amazing process.”
Komen officials say the breast cancer mortality rate has decreased by 43 percent 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 helpline@komen.org.