By Pooja Desai Carolyn Evani was a participant in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. She was one of thousands who just wanted to be a part of the fight. This year, as the Race marks its twentieth anniversary, Evani will be participating as the president of the Phoenix Affiliate of the race. The foundation’s namesake was a courageous woman who dedicated herself to bringing an end to breast cancer—the disease that she herself fought and eventually passed from. Komen’s sister, Nancy Brinker, founded Komen for the Cure as a tribute to Komen’s compassion for others while she was struggling to hold on to her own life. Its founding also is helping to fulfill a promise
Ten years ago,
42
North Valley AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2012
Brinker made to her sister to do everything she could to help eradicate the disease. The organization has worked tirelessly since its inception in 1982, becoming the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and supporters, with investments of over $1.9 billion toward the fight. According to the foundation’s research, one woman dies of breast cancer every thirteen minutes in the United States alone. It is the leading cause of cancer death among women in the country and the most common cancer in women worldwide. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime; an estimated 4,470 Arizona women will be diagnosed this year. Breast cancer is a
very real threat, and its boundaries are still, for the most part, unknown. But with the awareness stimulated by Komen for the Cure, so much has been accomplished in the past few decades to reduce the risks. Today, breast cancer no longer has to be a death sentence—a truth that lives in the women who have survived it. There are nearly 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, and research has developed to show that survival is indeed possible with procedures like early detection and screening. So what exactly does Komen for the Cure do? The foundation plays an essential role in fund-raising efforts that feed research as well as awareness. Every three years, each affiliate