Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure turns downtown Miami pink

Organization aims at breast cancer, group of diseases affecting 1 in 8 women

MIAMI – Thousands responded early Saturday morning in downtown Miami to a call to support Susan G. Komen, the world's leading organization fighting breast cancer in South Florida. 

City of Miami police officers closed streets to allow runners and walkers in the downtown Miami and Brickell areas to complete the organization's annual 5K event. 

The organization's "More Than Pink" campaign funds research, community health and advocacy programs. 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, also known as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The health campaign is an effort to increase awarenes of the disease affecting one in eight women.

According to the American Cancer Society the increased awareness and treatment improvements have dropped the risk of women dying from breast cancer to about 38 percent between the late 1980s and 2014. This translates into about 297,300 fewer deaths. 

Breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Only lung cancer kills more women each year, according to the American Cancer Society. There remain large gaps in mortality with African-American women having 42 percent higher death rates compared to white women.


About the Authors:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.