Organizers expect a record 70,000 people to descend on downtown St. Louis Saturday morning for the 10th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure -- the biggest Komen race gathering in the nation.

Ready to Run

Bill Smith | The Beacon

The fountain in Kiener Plaza has been made pink for breast-cancer awareness and the Komen run.

The giant fundraising effort is the signature event for the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a national breast cancer organization based in Dallas.

While money raised by the affiliate this year will not be awarded until 2009, a listing of last year's grants shows how the affiliate allocated its money from the 2007 event.

The list was prepared by the affiliate here in response to a request by The Beacon.

The lion's share of local grant money this year went to pay for breast screening and education programs. The largest single grant in 2008 -- about $480,000 - went to the Joanne Knight Breast Health Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. Komen officials say the Knight center provides free mammograms for more than 1,800 uninsured or underinsured women throughout the Komen St. Louis service area.

The St. Louis organization made grants totaling $2.45 million this year. Of that, $1.8 million remained in the St. Louis area, while the remaining $650,000 went to national programs.

A grants review panel, which last year consisted of 12 members, does much of the grant review work.

Last year's panel was made up of breast cancer survivors, lay advocates, members of the local business community, people with nonprofit experience and people involved with health care.

Following is a list of the 25 separate 2008 local grants. The list is in descending order, with the largest grants first.

1. $479,884 to the Joanne Knight Breast Health Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center. Screening is provided by the Siteman Center's mobile mammogram van at federally qualified health centers, neighborhood clinics, health departments and churches. Of the 1,800 women screened, at least 45 will be referred for follow-up services following a diagnosis of breast cancer.

2. $160,000 to Dr. Matthew Ellis at the Washington University School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center. Local Komen officials say the affiliate here is only one of seven affiliates across the country to fund grants to support local research and clinical trials. Dr. Ellis, an associate professor of medicine at the school of medicine, is completing genomic profiling on more than 250 tumor samples from women with estrogen-positive breast cancer.

3. $99,644 to Barnes-Jewish Hospital's "Daylight Project" serving refugee and immigrant women in the St. Louis area. The program promotes dialogue about breast health and breast cancer across a variety of nationalities and cultures.

4. $96,283 to SSM St. Joseph Health Care Center in St. Charles County and its Breast Health Initiative Outreach Project. The program focuses on uninsured and underinsured St. Charles County women age 40 and older who are symptomatic for breast cancer or at high risk for the disease. The project offers screening and follow-up services.

5. $90,200 to Missouri Baptist Medical Center for a program serving uninsured or underinsured women in 11 rural Missouri counties. The money provides educational programs, screenings through the center's mobile mammography van and follow-up services.

6. $89,265 to Missouri Baptist Medical Center to pay for mobile mammogram services for underserved women in St. Louis and St. Louis County. More than 200 women will receive mammograms, breast awareness education and/or diagnostic services as part of the program.

7. $80,263 to the St. John's Mercy Medical Center-David C. Pratt Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Screening and Education Program. The money is used to provide free breast exams, mammograms and information to nearly 600 uninsured or underinsured women aged 40 to 64.

8. $66,349 to the Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation for East St. Louis breast cancer treatment and screening. This program offers mammograms and follow-up treatments to poor women in East St. Louis. The program also provides a health educator to provide community outreach information about early detection and the need for annual mammograms.

9. $63,625 to People's Health Center of St. Louis, a federally qualified health center that provides mammogram screening to uninsured and underinsured women

10. $60,000 to Gateway to Hope and the CarcinAid Foundation. The program targets low-income women with a confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer living in the St. Louis area. Services include surgery, breast reconstruction, chemotherapy and other services.

11. $56,059 to Christian Hospital Northeast-Northwest's Solutions for Women program. The program offers screening to uninsured or underinsured women in North St. Louis County. A registered nurse provides educational information on breast health and early detection.

12. $54,292 to the St. Clair County Health Department's Wellness for Women program to provide breast cancer screening and education to women in that Illinois county. The program will serve an estimated 200 women.

13. $51,893 to outreach, education and screening through the Madison County, Ill., Health Department. Provides for breast cancer awareness and early detection screening in several county communities including Alton, Troy, Maryville, Marine, Highland, Maryville and Livingston.

14. $50,597 to Food Outreach Inc. for nutritional support for poor breast cancer patients. The money provides for an initial assessment by a registered dietitian and help in preparing nutritional meals during treatment. Frozen foods and supplements can be picked up at the Food Outreach facility or delivered to residences.

15. $49,753 to the Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers for education, outreach, screening and follow-up treatment. The centers serve poor people in 45 census tracts within St. Louis City and St. Charles County.

16. $47,047 to Washington University School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center's "The Navigator Project." The program provides intensive support for women during the complex and difficult time following diagnosis and treatment. The money will help provide services for 150 women.

17. $46,866 to the Siteman Cancer Center's St. Louis Witness Project. The faith-based program, which targets African-American women, uses lay volunteers -- most breast cancer survivors -- to reach into the community to inform women about the disease and early detection.

18. $39,522 to SSM St. Mary's Health Center's "Empower and Engage" program. The community-centered approach focuses on providing a nurturing environment to ease fears and provide services for screening, diagnosis and treatment in St. Louis, St. Louis County and rural areas of Missouri and Illinois.

19. $36,954 to Hoyleton Youth & Family Service's Puentes de Esperanza (Bridges of Hope) program. The program focuses on reducing barriers to screening and treatment for area Latinas. More than 100 women are expected to receive breast health services in this first-year partnership with Komen.

20. $28,995 to The Breakfast Club Inc. for a program supporting uninsured and underinsured African-American women with breast cancer in north St. Louis and north St. Louis County. The club hosts a monthly breakfast support group and uses volunteer survivors to visit the St. Louis Correctional Facility to educate women on self-exams and mammograms.

21. $27,461 to the St. Louis chapter of Hadassah for its "Check It Out" program. The program targets at-risk African-American women, Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern European descent and women in rural areas. Some 2,500 high school students and adults are expected to participate in the program over the next year.

22. $24,879 to Dr. Suzanne Mahon at St. Louis University. Dr. Mahon offers education and counseling to women and at-risk families on the risks, benefits and psychosocial ramifications of genetic testing. The program seeks to identify women with hereditary breast cancer and helps them by offering strategies for early detection and prevention

23. $18,000 to the St. Louis Peregrine Society's Lymphedema Assistance program. The program provides garments to uninsured and underserved women in the St. Louis area suffering from breast cancer. The garments help control the pain and swelling caused by fluid build-up resulting from breast cancer surgery and radiation treatment.

24. $17,625 to Washington University School of Medicine's Young Women's Breast Cancer program. This program offers support and education to young women with breast cancer and sponsors a Young Women's Breast Cancer Symposium for survivors.

25. $16,800 to Jefferson Memorial Hospital for a program targeting women in the rural counties of Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, Washington and northern Perry. Working through the Comprehensive Breast Health Education & Screening Program, about 75 mammograms will be provided. A support group will offer help to survivors at monthly meetings.