MILWAUKEE — Persistent rain and thunder Sunday morning meant Milwaukee’s annual Susan G. Komen breast cancer awareness walk didn’t go as planned.
Roughly 5,000 people were expected to attend the More Than Pink Walk at Henry Maier Festival Park but that number dwindled to a few dozen.
Those that stuck around made the most of the situation.
“I said [expletive] rain and we were all coming down here anyways because we love each other," breast cancer survivor Sarah Moreland said. "This is a really could cause."
Though the event was officially canceled, with safety concerns making the walk a no-go, the group’s goal remained at the forefront.
The annual event is meant to help raise money to find a cure for breast cancer, make existing treatments more accessible, and continue community programming on breast health.
It’s a mission Susan G. Komen Wisconsin Executive Director Nikki Pinico said won’t be deterred by the weather.
“The fight against breast cancer is everything to me,” Panico said. "I lost my mom and my aunt. They died within a month of each other, and I was diagnosed 14 years ago, and it came back last year."
Panico said she was touched to see people coming together despite the thunder and rain.
While there was no official finish line and the gates at Summerfest grounds remained closed, many dressed in pink were comforted being surrounded by those with a shared experience.
For Moreland that comfort came from a sisterhood of women, friends she came to know only after her diagnosis, team Phoenix 23.
“It was just like a whole family of people that knew what I was going through,’ she shared. “So, it didn't matter if I was crying, or I couldn't move or I had a bad day. I could call anybody or text anybody."
Susan G. Komen representatives said they are about 57 thousand dollars shy of reaching their goal in southeast Wisconsin.
If you want to donate, fundraising efforts will continue until the end of October. The group has raised about four hundred thousand so far.
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