A Times Square billboard is now counting down to the Susan G. Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure, set for Saturday, October 24, when thousands of survivors, family members, and supporters are expected to gather at Foley Square and cross the Brooklyn Bridge. Paramount and CBS News New York have partnered with the Komen Foundation to promote the event during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and organizers say they are aiming to raise nearly $7 million for breast cancer research, patient support, and advocacy efforts.
The partnership brought together breast cancer survivors, advocates, and Komen leaders to promote the fundraising event and raise awareness, according to CBS News New York. Stacie Spitzkoff, executive director of Susan G. Komen's New York chapter, said the partnership with Paramount and CBS New York exceeded her expectations. Nancy Harrington Jones said the Times Square billboard is empowering and should encourage people to act, per the same report.
Among those supporting the cause is Lily Cabezom, who is living with metastatic breast cancer and works as a physician assistant in oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian, where she helps patients navigate diagnoses similar to her own. Cabezom said being connected with others facing similar challenges is part of why she supports the cause, and she credited advances in treatment and research funding with helping her through years of treatment, the station's report notes.
New Fundraising Tools and a Specific Dollar Goal
Organizers are introducing shirts equipped with tap-to-donate technology this year, allowing supporters to contribute directly from their smartphones, according to the same CBS New York account. Separately, Susan G. Komen has set a specific event goal of $770,000 for the October 24 Greater New York City Race for the Cure, intended to directly support patient care, local research, and advocacy efforts, according to Susan G. Komen.
The scale of the fundraising push reflects a sobering national picture. For 2026, Komen estimates that 321,910 women nationwide will receive a new diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, while approximately 42,140 women will die from the disease. In New York State alone, roughly 17,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 2,500 die from it each year, making it the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the state, according to the New York State Department of Health.
A City With Deep Roots in the Pink Ribbon Movement
Holding the race in October ties the event directly to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it brings the fundraiser back to the city where the pink ribbon movement itself began. The iconic pink ribbon symbol originated in New York City in 1991, when the Komen Foundation distributed pink ribbons to participants and survivors at its inaugural NYC Race for the Cure, according to WHYY.
Local institutions have carried that legacy forward for decades. Pace University has maintained a team in the Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure for 36 consecutive years, consistently serving as the event's largest college team, according to Pace University.
Screening Guidelines and Coverage Rules Are Shifting Too
The race arrives as New York's medical and legislative landscape around breast cancer detection is changing. In April 2024, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its official guidelines, lowering the recommended starting age for biennial screening mammograms from 50 to 40 for average-risk women, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
New York has moved to back that guidance with new financial protections. In October 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation known as S2465-C, requiring commercial and nonprofit health insurance plans in the state to cover supplemental breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging, including MRIs and ultrasounds recommended under clinical guidelines, with an effective date of January 1, 2026, per the New York State Radiological Society. Under state law, insurers are also prohibited from requiring copayments, deductibles, or coinsurance cost-sharing for in-network screening mammograms, diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasounds, and breast MRIs, according to the New York State Department of Health.
Those efforts appear to be paying off in screening rates. In October 2025, the New York State Department of Health reported that 81.9% of women aged 50 to 74 in the state were up to date on breast cancer screenings, surpassing the national goal of 80.3% for the first time since 2020.
Disparities in Outcomes Remain a Persistent Concern
Even as screening rates improve statewide, outcomes remain uneven along racial lines nationally. A 2024 report by the American Cancer Society found that Black women in the United States face a 38% higher breast cancer mortality rate than White women, despite experiencing a 5% lower overall incidence rate, underscoring why health equity remains a central theme for advocacy groups like Komen heading into this year's race.
New York's race joins a string of similar Komen and Making Strides events happening across the country this fall, including a Fort Lauderdale stadium turned pink and walks held in Milwaukee, Sandy, Utah, and Las Vegas. For New Yorkers, the October 24 gathering at Foley Square offers a chance to put a local face on a fight that, per Komen's own national figures, touches hundreds of thousands of families every year.
