Group Therapy

Hundreds of pink-capped women flooded Fashion Island on Sunday for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual charity run and walk. But many treated the Newport Beach event more like a family reunion than a sports competition.

Take three women from the Garden Grove Unified School District who brought 426 male and female co-workers to participate, including breast cancer survivors, victims of other cancers and those related to cancer patients.

“The whole Garden Grove school district really feels like a family because many of us have been affected. It’s heart-warming. We’ve cooked for each other. We’ve cried together. We know,” said Margaret Ferguson, 57, of Anaheim, a district school principal celebrating her 20th cancer-free year.

The Garden Grove contingent was a microcosm of the Race for the Cure’s participants and their supporters, many of whom were taken on an emotional roller coaster. There were women bald from chemotherapy, wearing the pink caps given to cancer survivors, cheering for their lives. There were veteran survivors who realized just how many people have been through the same scary diagnosis. There were sons and daughters who remembered others who didn’t make it and wore pink signs on their backs: “In memory of my mom.”

A record number of women and men--about 25,000--participated in Sunday’s Race for the Cure, an annual 5K run and walk that began in Orange County in 1992. Traditionally,

the Orange County event is among the 10 largest of 98 conducted nationwide each year by the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Organizers believe the net earnings from Sunday’s race will be $1.2 million, topping last year’s record $1-million gain.

Cathy Wills, president of Susan G. Komen’s Orange County affiliate, said organizers were seeking to increase pledges, not participants this year. But the surge of people at the event “shows how everyone is affected in one way or another.”

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Not long ago, cancer victims were discouraged from speaking about their illness in public. But Sunday’s event signaled an end to that. Corporate sponsors showed up with samples of food and sweepstake entries. Clinics came with information about symposiums, experimental treatments and detection tips.

Jan Thielbar of the Irvine-based Belle-Amie laid her company’s products on a bed of roses: dozens of fake breast prosthetics.

The sight stunned Eileen Jacob, 83, of Long Beach, who silently endured breast cancer treatment 51 years ago and has since suffered from the effects of radiation and a heavy prosthetic breast that wore her skin down where her bra meets her shoulder.

“I’m amazed. Everyone talks about this nowadays. Back then, everything was hush-hush,” she said.

Linda Tenno, 45, of Costa Mesa believes increased publicity about breast cancer saved her life. She came to the race last year not knowing that she had a cancerous lump. Tenno, principal of Garden Grove’s Riverdale Elementary School, had only insisted on a mammogram after participating in the event last year where she learned about the importance of early detection.

“I really feel like the Race for the Cure saved my life,” she said Sunday with sons Alex, 5, and Andrew, 6, at her side.

Other participants rejoiced because registration fees and pledges could lead to a cure for breast cancer.

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Garden Grove Unified’s director of employee-employer relations, Eileen Dibb, another survivor, said, “What we are saying is if they can put a man on the moon, they can fix this, too.”

Keeping with the race’s tradition, organizers brought breast cancer survivors, including 18-or-so Garden Grove survivors, wearing turquoise T-shirts, to a dais. About 1,400 women wearing pink hats were saluted with red roses, songs and speeches. Inspirational songs such as “We Are the Champions” resonated through the crowd. Balloons in every color and rounds of applause added to the festivities.

So many women’s lips remained curled and their throats knotted as they tried to hold back tears for numerous group photographs.

“Those are good tears, healing tears,” said Ferguson.

Organizers capped the day’s events by releasing 100 white homing pigeons from white coops to encourage the group to keep their faith. Many survivors looked to the cloudy Sunday sky and prayed.