by Katherine Adams

Created on: October 22, 2009

Before 1996, you couldn't find anything pink in my wardrobe. In fact, other than a few garden roses, or an old bottle of Pepto-Bismol in the bathroom, pink in my home was not to be seen. But in 1996, when my dear friend Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer at 43, and died three months later, I visualized pink in a different way - pink was now as a reminder of lives lost and saved. In September, 1996, about a month after Susan's death, I drove 50 miles from my home in Salem, Oregon, to Portland, where I attended my first Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.

Portland is the third largest site for this event - that year, over 40,000 people participated in the event, many of them breast cancer survivors. They were easily recognizable in their deep-hued pink T-shirts and hats. Those of us running or walking were given T-shirts advertising the event and its sponsors, and pink-hued pins. It's nearly impossible to think of an item anywhere in the race vicinity that someone hadn't purchased or dyed pink. Shoes - pink. Shoelaces - pink. Water bottles - pink. Hair - dyed all shades of pink.

Against the backdrop of the beautiful Portland waterfront, even the Willamette River's blue water paled in comparison to the sea of pink washing over the area. The sponsors of this event - many of them highly visible on T-shirts, gift items and in decorated booths dotting the waterfront - no doubt receive positive public relations feedback every time they agree to sign on to Komen festivities. And that public relations often translates to profits for sponsors. For their help in trying to end this cancer, I salute them. If they profit from their support, hurray, and more power to them. However much they make - if anything - has accomplished what could not happen without their help.

The real bottom line, at least with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, is that a whopping 75 percent of every dollar raised stays in the local affiliate area. The remaining 25 percent goes to research conducted worldwide. I know this for a fact; "75 percent stays local" is not just a phrase finagled for brochures to make the organization look good. A friend recently confided in me that two of her sisters, who both died from the disease - received enormous financial support from the Komen Foundation. I'm more than happy to buy a pink sweatshirt knowing a patient might be helped from my small contribution.

There are other organizations, coalitions and events that support the end of the number two killer of women

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