Komen Arkansas Fights Cancer Every Step of the Way
When Ellen Kreth walked in the Arkansas Komen Race for the Cure shortly after her breast cancer diagnosis, her 3-year-old daughter, Gracie, tagged along by her side. Her 5-month-old, Celia, rode in her stroller.
In August, Kreth drove Gracie off to college at the University of Virginia, and Celia is now a sophomore at Episcopal Collegiate School.
“It’s been 15 years since the diagnosis, and there’s no evidence of disease, NED they call it.” But it has been a long journey, Kreth says, and Komen Arkansas, the sponsor of the fundraising 5K run for 23 years, has been with her for every step.
“I was shocked when I was diagnosed,” says Kreth, whose cancer was a rare and aggressive inflammatory form that often strikes younger women. “I was 33 years old, I had two small children. I didn’t even know the difference between chemo and radiation. But Komen became a support group for me.”
Race for the Cure, which drew 25,000 participants to downtown Little Rock last year, making it the second-largest Komen race in the United States, is the cancer-fighting organization’s crucial annual event. This year’s races – there’s a competitive run, a noncompetitive 5K and a 2K walk – are set for Saturday, Oct. 22.
“I’ll never forget the race after I was diagnosed,” Kreth said. “I was at my parents’ house, and a TV station was reporting on the Komen race. I was sitting there crying when there was a knock on the door. It was four of my college roommates [from the University of Alabama] who had come from all over the country to walk the race with me.” When Kreth was chairman of the event in 2009, those college friends walked with her again.
“The first year I volunteered, we were honoring survivors, and put up a big piece of pink paper. People would write their names and how many years they had been survivors. A woman walked up and put down 50 years, and others were putting up 20 years, 30 years. Here I was three years in and thinking I can do this, I can survive long-term. It really gives you hope and courage, and that’s what you need to fight.”
Kreth’s fight included five to six months of chemotherapy, surgery, then five more months of chemo, then radiation and more surgical procedures. She says she leaned on Komen, her girls and her husband, Kelly Kreth. “I think families need to know that no one is immune, and that breast cancer doesn’t discriminate. Even men can get breast cancer. It’s rare, but we have a couple of male survivors in Arkansas.”
She said her daughters have grown up volunteering with Komen, and living with cancer’s realities. “When my hair started falling out, I sat with my 3-year-old and she pulled it out. I needed her to know what was happening. And they’ve had years of hearing me talk about Komen, quoting statistics, telling them that they’re at a heightened risk.”
But Kreth also taught her daughters hope and action. “I didn’t tell them the risks to scare them. They just became immersed in what breast cancer is and how it’s treated. When women learn self-awareness and seek treatment early, the prognosis is far better.” Her daughters eventually became Komen volunteers on their own, helping at the race.
Sherrye McBryde, executive director of the Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, says that both the organization and its Little Rock race are special. “Our race is bigger than the race in New York, or Dallas, or Denver. It is second only to Columbus [Ohio], and that’s interesting because Little Rock is a relatively small town.”
McBryde noted that thousands of volunteers devote time to the race, which is open to everyone, including children, and features “entertainers” on every block of the route, not least the Little Rock firefighters who dance atop their trucks.
More seriously, McBryde says Komen’s “pure finance story” is special as well. General and administrative expenses are kept to less than a quarter of money raised, and 75 percent of the remainder stays at home to finance grants to women fighting cancer in 63 of the state’s 75 counties.
“The money stays where it was raised, which is not the case with many organizations.”
She said that the local affiliate allots 25 percent to the national organization, which spends every penny on research for a breast cancer cure. “Last year, the 75 percent that stayed in the state provided grants of $900,000, and the amount that went to the national group was $265,000.”
Over 22 years, the Arkansas Komen Race has raised $16.2 million for Arkansas women, and $5.4 million for national research. The 2016 race chair is photographer Shawna Long, and the honorary chair is Nancy Nolan. Honorary survivor is Gwen Haniff.
Registration before race day is $27 for the noncompetitive 5K and 2K, and $37 for the competitive race. On the day of the event, the fees rise to $37 and $47. Mail-in registration forms, online registration and additional information are available at KomenArkansas.org.
