For 15 years, breast cancer survivors have traded hospital gowns for designer looks and treatment rooms for the runway at Maimonides Health’s annual Pink Runway — and this year, the celebration gets a new backdrop.
The 15th annual Pink Runway will take place Oct. 27 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum, bringing survivors, families, doctors and supporters together for an evening dedicated to celebrating life after breast cancer.
The event, titled “A Journey of Strength & Hope,” will feature breast cancer survivors walking the runway as part of an annual celebration that raises awareness and supports the Maimonides Breast Cancer Center.
Patrick Borgen, MD, Chair of Surgery at Maimonides Health and Director of Maimonides Breast Cancer Center, as well as a 2026 OncLive Giant of Cancer Care, said that the event has been a continuous “source of joy and pride” for everyone involved.
“It’s a night of music, tears, laughter, dancing and cheering on our incredibly special survivors as they walk down the Pink Runway,” he said. “It’s a reminder of the impact of centering our community in their health care.
The Pink Runway has become a signature event for the Maimonides Breast Cancer Center, which was established two decades ago as Brooklyn’s first fully accredited, comprehensive breast cancer center. The center says it now sees about 23,000 patient visits each year and treats approximately 600 women annually for breast cancer.
“There were no cancer services in Brooklyn when we established our center 20 years ago,” Dr. Borgen continued. “Maimonides saw that need and fulfilled it, in the name of providing Brooklynites with the world-class cancer care this community deserves.”
The event’s focus, however, remains squarely on the survivors themselves.
Dr. Patrick Borgen serves as the Pink Runway’s honorary chair.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
The 2026 Pink Runway website features survivors including Anna May Abris, Areita Guy, Cynthia Futrell, Theresa Lana and Vilma Huertas-Cymbrowitz, each of whom describes the runway as a celebration of resilience, hope and life after a breast cancer diagnosis.
“Walking the Pink Runway feels like triumph over adversity, a celebration of the woman I am, a survivor through it all,” Abris said on the Pink Runway website.
For Guy, the runway represents an opportunity to make survivorship visible.
“Walking the Pink Runway means stepping into visibility with courage, pride, and purpose. It represents strength, hope, and resilience. The Runway shows what I went through, but I’ve overcome it. I’m still standing, and I’m willing to be seen,” she said.
The event has grown considerably since its early years. In 2025, the 14th annual Pink Runway was held at Williamsburg’s historic Weylin and brought survivors together for an evening of fashion, music and storytelling. The event raised a record $700,000, according to Maimonides, to support new diagnostic software for the Breast Cancer Center.
Last year’s event also introduced a second runway walk for survivors and the people who supported them throughout their treatment — whether a spouse, family member, physician or nurse.
The event will honor Rachel Lousteau with the Wings of Healing Award and Dr. Borgen with the Breast Cancer Champion Award.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
The 2026 event will honor Rachel Lousteau with the Wings of Healing Award and Borgen with the Breast Cancer Champion Award. Lousteau is also serving as one of this year’s co-chairs alongside Jennifer Eisenstadt, Jodi Pollack, Kathleen Sullivan and Paul Walsh.
Borgen is serving as honorary chair.
The celebration comes during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when health organizations across Brooklyn and beyond emphasize the importance of screening and early detection.
Maimonides partners with the New York State Cancer Services Program to provide free mammograms and other breast screenings to uninsured and underinsured women. The program covers women 40 and older, as well as younger women considered at high risk for breast cancer.
The 15th annual Pink Runway will be held Oct. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway. Tickets are available through the event website, with individual tickets listed at $500 and Guardian and VIP Guardian tickets also available.
For more information, visit gopinkrunway.org.