The roar of the stadium’s PA system was replaced Sunday by the steady thump of walking shoes and a sea of pink as participants streamed through Acrisure Stadium’s gates for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. Families, cancer survivors, health-care workers and local elected officials converged on the venue in an event organizers said was intended to combine celebration with urgency: to raise funds and to draw attention to inequities in breast cancer outcomes.

“It’s a day to remember those we’ve lost and to push for better care for everyone,” said a survivor who joined the walk and requested not to be named. “We celebrate, but we also know that access to screening and timely treatment is still not the same for everyone in Pittsburgh.”

The walk is the American Cancer Society’s marquee fundraising effort focused on breast cancer awareness, education and patient services. Organizers emphasized that money raised supports research, free patient navigation, transportation to treatment, and local screening programs. At station tents around the concourse, volunteers distributed information on mammography, genetic counseling referrals and support services for newly diagnosed patients.

Public health officials used the gathering to underscore persistent disparities. National data show that while breast cancer incidence is roughly similar across many groups, mortality is higher among Black women and people in low-income communities—differences driven by later-stage diagnoses, less access to specialty care and structural barriers such as transportation and time off work. Local advocates at the stadium called for policy changes to address those gaps, urging expanded funding for mobile mammography, community-based screening initiatives and culturally competent patient navigation.

“Events like this raise crucial funds, but they must be paired with sustained policy investments that remove barriers to early detection,” said a regional representative for the American Cancer Society. “Screening saves lives, but only when people can access it and receive timely follow-up care.”

For many participants, the walk offered more than policy talk. Support groups staged brief vigils near the field, and small clusters of survivors shared stories of diagnosis, treatment and recovery. “I walked my first Making Strides two years after my mastectomy,” said another participant. “This year, I’m here to tell people that support matters — and to push for services in neighborhoods where care is scarce.”

Local clinicians highlighted concrete ways to translate the day’s momentum into sustained improvements. Community health centers in Allegheny County reported offering extended hours and outreach in response to community feedback, and some hospitals said they were expanding navigation programs to help patients coordinate appointments and insurance issues.

Still, advocates noted that funding from one-off events cannot substitute for systemic reforms. They urged state and local policymakers to strengthen preventive care funding, support Medicaid outreach to eligible residents who remain uninsured, and invest in transportation and paid leave policies that enable people to pursue screening and treatment without risking their livelihoods.

Organizers said funds from the walk will be tallied in the coming weeks and directed to local programs and national research efforts. For participants, the day combined grief, celebration and a clear message: the fight against breast cancer is medical, social and political, and progress will require both community solidarity and structural change.