WACO, Texas — Waco was full of pink walkers on Sunday at the Komen Central Texas More than Pink Walk.
It was a virtual event as the main walk was held in Austin, but that didn't stop many survivors of breast cancer from coming together and walking in unison.
The mission of the walk is to not only raise funds, but also awareness.
“It can be caught early and it can be handled, but if you wait, it can be worse, so certainly don’t put off anything," Marcy Thomas, a survivor said.
Thomas has been diagnosed with breast cancer three different times since 1994. She has successfully fought it off each time and is now an advocate for others to be tested often.
I would reiterate, don’t put off any treatment. If you think you have an issue, don’t put it off.”
Bertha Arellano is another survivor. She said she had been coming to these walks for years just to support, but was diagnosed herself back in 2018.
“You need to make sure that you have your mammograms every year, it doesn’t matter how old you are, the mammograms are very important," she said.
The American Cancer Society reports that breast cancer cases have risen by .5 percent in recent years. It is projected that more than 280,000 new cases will be reporter this year alone.
The community that comes to these walks acts as a support group.
"As you know, cancer in general doesn’t discriminate if you will," Thomas said. "So there’s all walks, ages, colors, and mostly women, but it is happening in men too. So it’s a great community to come out and support each other. But I would reiterate, don’t put off any treatment. If you think you have an issue, don’t put it off.”
The Susan G. Komen Foundation has raised more than $1.1 billion for breast cancer awareness and their Texas chapters serve more than 254 counties in the Lonestar State.