Pink Is In

Race for the Cure raises money and awareness for breast cancer survivors.

Thick red hair once coursed down her back. That was before the chemo treatments. MaryAnne Caster was only 29 when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Seven years later, while volunteering at a clinic to show patients how to check for breast cancer, she felt a lump. Soon thereafter, doctors confirmed that Caster also had breast cancer. She’s devoted countless hours to fighting the disease by working for the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s mid-Kansas affiliate and serving as the organization’s first full-time local employee.

As a long-time volunteer, Caster already knew the organization’s importance. But after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she found herself relying on the organization for support, knowledge and money for mammograms. “It made me realize how amazing this organization is,” says the 37-year-old mother.

On September 29, the foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year, Race for the Cure, helps raise money and awareness about breast cancer. An estimated 178,000 American women like Caster will be diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease this year alone. Race day atmosphere is reminiscent of an education fair, with booths that offer massages, roses, giveaways, food and pamphlets. A new program, “I Am the Cure,” stresses three important points for women: 1) perform self breast exams every month, 2) get clinical breast exams on a regular basis and 3) have a mammogram every year.

Race for the Cure has grown rapidly in Wichita during the past 25 years, from 1,400 people in 1990 to nearly 8,000 last year. The event draws pink-clad breast cancer survivors, supporters, marathon runners, children in strollers and anyone else who wants to join the cause. “The sight of so many women in pink is stunning,” says Caster. “And this is just the tip of the iceberg. These are just the women able to get to the race.”

This year’s Race for the Cure kicks off during the last Saturday in September. The main event, the competitive 5k race, begins at 8 a.m. at Towne East Square and snakes through picturesque Eastborough. Afterward, at 8:45 a.m., is Kids for the Cure, a 50-yard dash for youngsters. It’s followed by the non-competitive 5k race and the mile-long survivor lap. The event wraps up with a survivors’ celebration and awards program at 10 a.m. Two cancer survivor race winners will win jewelry from Saint by Sarah Jane, including pink topaz bumble bee earrings and a diamond-studded horse motif bracelet.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Susan G. Komen foundation. The proceeds benefit multiple purposes. The bulk of it, up to 75 percent, stays in Kansas to fund breast cancer screenings for uninsured women and to provide breast cancer education. At least another 25 percent goes to the Komen Award and Research Grant Program. The $25 entry fee is only one way the race rakes in support. Racers can also create a website that allows donors to give funds online to the team of their choice.

To learn more about the Susan G. Komen foundation and Race for the Cure, visit komen.org.



The Phoenix Rises
The story of one breast cancer survivor, MaryAnne Caster

Full of Irish heritage and American spirit, MaryAnne Caster was only 29 when she was first diagnosed with cervical cancer. Seven years later, while volunteering for the Susan G. Komen foundation’s Kansas affiliate, she discovered  more bad news.

While teaching a patient how to check for breast cancer in 2004, Caster touched the right side of her breast. She paused. “This is a lump,” she said. “This is what you shouldn’t be feeling.” The patient looked at Caster with concern. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

She was already  fully committed to the cause, coming in daily contact with the women that Race for the Cure helps while volunteering since the mid-1990s. After her diagnosis, however, the tables turned. She became one of the patients who depended on the organization for support, knowledge and money for her first mammogram. “It made me realize how amazing this organization is,” she says.

Now 37, Caster is the first full-time employee for the mid-Kansas affiliate of the Susan G. Komen foundation. She's in charge of outreach and education for 99 counties in Kansas.

The disease has affected her for years, starting when Caster watched her aunt die of breast cancer while growing up in Ireland. “Because it was in the breast, which was considered a sexual organ, nobody would talk about it,” she says of her home country. After discovering the cause of her aunt's death, Caster dreamed of becoming part of the Komen foundation, a desire further fueled when her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 25.

Caster was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1999. “When I first had cancer I had a little bit of a pity party,” Caster says. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years later, her mentality was different. During her second battle, Caster refused to be a victim. Instead, she began kickboxing, with a trashcan nearby in case she got sick to her stomach. “Getting this disease was a blessing for me because it opened up how you can enjoy life no matter what you’re doing,” she says.

For Caster, the phoenix that rises from the ashes came to symbolize her bouts with cancer. In fact, she had the resilient bird scrawled on her back to accompany her first tattoo, a pink ribbon with a rose and wings in memory of her aunt. “I’m not the type of person who ever thought I would get a tattoo,” she says. "But cancer changes who you are and how you identify yourself.”

There are the daily struggles. Sometimes she forgets where she’s going while driving. She needs notes on how to put on her makeup, so her 16-year-old daughter  leaves messages for her around the house. But those are improvements—during Caster’s darkest days, her teen sometimes had to help carry her mother up the stairs.

Thanks to efforts like those of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, public awareness of breast cancer is growing. Breast cancer touches 1 in 8 women. Caster encourages women to support each other by going to events like Race for the Cure. “The sight of  women in pink is stunning,” Caster says. “They’re everywhere, and this is just the tip of the iceberg—these are just the women who are able to get to the race.”

Contrary to how neighbors in Ireland reacted to her aunt's disease decades ago, Caster and the Susan G. Komen Foundation is raising awareness and making strides against breast cancer in the United States. “We’re no longer going to be quiet,” Caster says. “We’re going to be brass and bold and make this an unforgettable year in the history of the breast cancer movement.”