Susan G. Komen Greater Fort Worth to premier new More Than Pink Walk event in 2018

Susan G. Komen Greater Fort Worth supporters can expect some changes at its annual fundraising walk this spring. Komen is ready to debut the next evolution of the Race for the Cure series, and residents of Fort Worth will be among the first in the country to see it, a news release said.

According to the foundation, each week, 24 women are diagnosed and four women die from breast cancer in the four-county area of Tarrant, Parker, Johnson and Hood counties.

The Komen Greater Fort Worth More Than Pink Walk event will take place April 28 in Clear Fork.

Event day details are as follows:

- FWBP Digital Partners -

— 7 a.m. — Registration opens

— 7:45 a.m. — Photo of Survivors and Those Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer

— 8:30 a.m. — Opening Ceremony

— 8:45 a.m. — Walk begins

- Advertisement -

— 9—11 a.m. — Party in the Park

“We’re excited about this new chapter and encourage everyone to register and begin fundraising,” Executive Director Tracey Boyes said in the release. “We look forward to seeing everyone walking on April 28 for a day of inspiration and hope in support of all those living with breast cancer, and those who have survived, and to remember and celebrate the lives we’ve lost to the disease.”

Komen’s Greater Fort Worth foundation was selected to be one of four locations across the nation to pilot test the new Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk event, which along with a new name will include a new look and energizing-focused experience. The release explained that this new approach is based on input from participants across the country, as well as Komen’s observations taken from their years of experience.

“These changes are intended to increase people’s connection to our work beyond breast cancer awareness,” Boyes said. “Together, we are more than pink–a community of people who want to do more for research, more for our communities, more for caring for those among us who are living with breast cancer – including metastatic breast cancer – and more action to find cures.

“The biggest difference is that the More Than Pink Walk will not have a separate run element, focusing instead on the walk which reflects the vast majority of the event’s participants who walk, rather than run during the event. This change will create a greater sense of community among participants and will provide a more personalized, emotional experience for all who attend. Without the expenses incurred with a separate timed run, Komen will maximize the amount of funds raised by the event to support our local work to save lives and end breast cancer.”

- Advertisement -

The foundation aims to help address the fact that many people facing breast cancer in the four-county area are uninsured or underinsured, citing that the percent of uninsured people ages 18-64, all races, both sexes and all income levels in Tarrant County in 2014 was 24 percent; Parker County 21 percent; Johnson County 27 percent; and Hood County 24 percent.

The release explained that the foundation helps provide un and underinsured people access to needed breast health services by raising money to grant to local organizations who provide screenings such as mammograms, treatment, education and support to patients and their families.

According to the foundation, 75 percent of the funds raised locally stay in the local community to help pay for these programs, with the remaining 25 percent going to Komen’s research efforts.

Since 1992, the Greater Fort Worth location has has invested more than $19 $19 million locally for screening and diagnostics, which included paying for 43,139 local mammograms, while contributing more than $5 million to research, the release said.

In 2017, the foundation granted more than $423,000 to community partners including Moncrief Cancer Institute, Texas Health Resources, Cancer Care Services and American Cancer Society, which provided services to more than 4,000 people in the four-county area.

For more information or to register, please visit greaterfortworth.info-komen.org.