Fund-“Racing” for Breast Cancer Awareness

“You have breast cancer.” Those words send shockwaves through patients and their families. At that moment, everything changes. Ask any breast cancer survivor and they can tell you exactly where they were when they heard those words, and who they turned to next.

Susan G. Komen Colorado serves as an important resource for breast cancer education and services. Komen Colorado is dedicated to saving lives and ending breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all, and energizing science to find the cures.

In Colorado, 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. This year, more than 3,420 women in Colorado will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 510 will die from the disease. Komen Colorado is working to better the lives of those facing breast cancer in our community. Through our signature events — Komen Colorado Race for the Cure^®, Ride for the Cure, and the Pink Tie Affair along with other fundraising initiatives — Komen Colorado has invested $41 million in community breast health programs. Of the funds generated by the organization, 75 percent of net proceeds stay in Colorado and the remaining 25 percent support life-saving national breast cancer research.

Please join us for the 23rd annual Susan G. Komen Colorado Race for the Cure^®, which will be held Sunday, September 27 at the Pepsi Center. This event is the largest breast cancer event in Colorado and among the top five Komen Races across the United States.

Race events include a 5K run at 8am and a Family 1-mile Fun Walk at 9am. Survivors and co-Survivors are invited to visit the Survivor Village prior to the race. All participants are invited to stay and honor survivors at the signature Survivor Celebration at 10:15am. Along with recognizing those who have conquered the disease, a special Co-Survivor Award will be presented by Great-West Financial.

Connecting our mission with our revenue goals is very important to the organization and its Board of Directors. This year, Komen Colorado awarded more than $1.7 million through a competitive grants program to provide safety-net breast cancer care for those in need. The grants support 24 breast health and breast cancer projects at 58 Colorado locations that will be administered by 18 nonprofit hospitals, health care clinics, and community-based organizations.

Komen Colorado received applications requesting more than $3 million in support, so we know there is still more work to be done to ensure all Coloradans have access to the care they need and accurate information about breast cancer risk and screening recommendations.

Those organizations receiving funding include Clinica Tepeyac, Colorado Foundation for the Public Health and Environment, Native American Cancer Research, Rocky Mountain Rural Health, Denver Health, Project Angel Heart, Sense of Security, Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation, Aspen Valley Hospital, Colorado Community Health Network, Community Health Services, Grand River Hospital District, Inner City Health Center, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, Yuma District Hospital, Saint Anthony Health Foundation, and Poudre Valley Health System Foundation.

Komen Colorado’s 22-county service area includes Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, Garfield, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Park, Phillips, Pitkin, Sedgwick, Summit, Washington, Weld, and Yuma.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Komen Colorado has funded nearly $15 million in life-saving research since 1991 in all areas of breast cancer, from prevention to treatment and to survivorship. And with continued support, this scientific research will address some of the most pressing issues in breast cancer today:

• Identifying/improving early detection methods.
• Ensuring more accurate diagnoses.
• Developing new approaches to prevention.
• Enabling personalized treatments based on breast cancer subtypes and the genetic make-up of a tumor.

If you or someone you know does not have insurance, needs a mammogram, or has questions, call Komen Colorado at 303-744-2088 or visit us for additional community resources.

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