SAN ANTONIO – Thousands are expected to gather at SeaWorld San Antonio this weekend for the More Than Pink Walk.
The annual event is aimed at raising funds and awareness about breast cancer, the most common cancer among women in Texas.
KSAT 12 spoke with a woman who survived the disease and is now on a mission to end breast cancer.
Laurel Pointer, 56, was proudly wearing a pink T-shirt, exclusively for breast cancer survivors.
“It’s a sense of power for me,” Pointer said.
Pointer has a storied history with breast cancer. Her mother battled it twice, she lost her aunt to the disease and worked for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, for more than 25 years.
When she was diagnosed with the disease, Pointer told KSAT 12 she knew exactly what to do.
“I was diagnosed on July 18th of 2024. I’ll always remember it because it was our wedding anniversary, and I got the call from the radiologist saying, ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have ‘invasive ductal carcinoma,’“ Pointer said.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) is a type of breast cancer that originates in the milk ducts and spreads to surrounding tissues.
Pointer was diagnosed with IDC after her annual mammogram.
“When (I did it in 2023), it didn’t show anything,” Pointer said. “In 2024, it was there.”
Luckily for Pointer, doctors caught the cancer early. She also had something called the Oncotype DX genomic test, which looks at how likely cancer is to return.
It also showed she didn’t need chemotherapy.
“I had a bilateral mastectomy,” Pointer said.
Now that she’s in better health, Pointer said she now feels fantastic.
“Don’t just sit and wallow. You’ve got to get out. You’ve gotta get moving. You gotta get walking,” Pointer said. “Get those arms up in the air and do those things, and it makes the world of difference in your recovery.”
But Pointer isn’t hitting the brakes anytime soon. She now has her eye on a bigger prize.
“I want everybody’s journey to be easier than the person before them, and that’s why I am participating in a couple of clinical trials ... I want to talk about oncotyping because not everybody knows about it ... I’m still here to make a difference,” Pointer said.
The More Than Pink Walk takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, at SeaWorld San Antonio. The site opens at 7 a.m., and the walk begins at 9 a.m.
Anyone interested in registering for the walk can do so by clicking here.