Thousands Turn Out For Susan G. Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Thousands decked out in pink hit Central Park on Sunday morning to fight back against breast cancer.
The annual Susan G. Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure, a 5K run and walk, brought together cancer survivors and their supporters.
About 13,000 people helped raise around $3 million for breast cancer research and local programs helping cancer patients.
Thousands Turn Out For Susan G. Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure In Central Park
"There are so many survivors and their families who wait all year for Race for the Cure, and they come out en masse to celebrate, to raise dollars and to really just be with their families and celebrate their survivorship," Linda McNeil Tantawi, CEO of Susan G. Komen Greater NYC, told CBS 2's Vanessa Murdock.
Web Extra: Susan G Komen Of Greater NYC | Upcoming Events | Get Involved | Continuum Of Care
"The thing that I'm most proud of is the lives that are being saved," added Eric Brinker, "People are living longer. Today, women are still being diagnosed with breast cancer almost every two minutes. So there's still a lot more work to do. But people are living longer than ever."
Jerry Meany, of Stony Point, New York, showed up to the race with bells on -- literally.
Thousands Turn Out For Susan G. Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure
"They gave me a bell, and I just said I think it was a mistake giving me a bell," she joked with WCBS 880's Jim Smith as she continued to ring it.
The breast cancer survivor of nine years added, "It's not a death sentence anymore, and as long as you have supporters with you, you could make it through anything."
Elena Ferrer fought back tears seeing the support.
"I'm getting emotional right now," she said. "But it's good to know that there's people out there helping," Ferrer said.
Leslie Tarver, of Brooklyn, waged her battle four years ago. She's now hoping to completely wipe out breast cancer.
"I was talking to my doctor. He was like, 'The cure is coming,'" she said.
Colleen Brezee, a survivor of 10 years, makes the four-plus-hour trip from outside Syracuse every year since her diagnosis.
She had some advice for those fighting the same battle she once did: "Think positive. You've got to have a good attitude. You've got to have faith in your doctors."
Rita Bracken, whose mother died of breast cancer in 1991, said it's because of events like the Susan G. Komen Greater race that so much has changed since then.
"Women are educated and knowledgeable -- and services and medical tests and screenings," she said.
Nurse practitioner Denise Weaver, of Gramery, Manhattan, said the annual event brings happiness and tears.
"It's a terrible disease, and hopefully we can find a cure," she told 1010 WINS' Derricke Dennis.
Frank Lombardo, of East Meadow, Long Island, comes every year because so many women in his family have been impacted.
"Every year, there's more and more people (at the race)," he said. "So it's just proof that the more people come together, the more will we have to fight."
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