Pink T-shirts, pink sunglasses and pink tutus galore.

Take one look at the MORE THAN PINK Walk photos with the cheery, rosy hue of the crowd’s coordinated wardrobe and you’ll feel the positive vibe. The glow permeates a like-hearted group united for the same mission: to help end breast cancer.

“We love to participate in the MORE THAN PINK Walk to help our members, to help our community,” said Susie White, IEHP’s chief operations officer, who participates in the annual event along with other enthusiastic IEHP team members. “It’s a sea of pink—a lot of high energy when you get there. People are excited.”

Nationwide, the Susan G. Komen MORE THAN PINK Walks bring in both hundreds of thousands of people and dollars. It is the organization’s largest fundraising event series, evolved from the Race for the Cure in 2018. Since then, more than 100,000 participants at 40-plus in-person (and one virtual) walks across the U.S. – including in the Inland Empire – have committed to the group’s vision of “a world without breast cancer.

Leading the “IEHP Goes Pink” team, Susie’s reasons for championing the cause run deep.

“It’s emotional,” Susie added. “You’re surrounded by people who have been impacted by cancer; survivors speaking and telling their stories and I was like, ‘I’m dealing with that also – my mom had breast cancer.’”

Her mother, Jo Wright, battled breast cancer for decades. It first appeared as a lump in her breast in 1994, when she was 49.

Jo underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation – resulting in a cancer-free diagnosis.

But 26 years later, in 2020, the cancer returned. Metastasized.

By this time, Jo was 75 and her treatment consisted of hormonal therapy, which significantly limited the cancer growth.

“She was taking Ibrance, which is designed to slow the progress of cancer and it was working very well for her,” Susie said. “Her cancer numbers were not rising.”

Then, on May 30, 2023, in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, Jo suffered a massive heart attack and died.

“It was very hard,” said Susie, her voice cracking with emotion. “All that time, we shared things and talked – I thought I had more time. I mean, that’s the biggest thing – I thought I had more time.

“To know, it was just like that – she was gone.”

Inland Empire Health Plan Chief Operating Officer Susie White, right, and her late mother, Jo Wright.

Reflecting on her professional role as the COO of the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid public health plan in the nation – with 1.5 million members – Susie emphasized IEHP’s important influence in cancer screenings and other preventive care services.

Knowing a cure for breast cancer could still be years away from a reality, regular doctor visits and annual screenings are key, she said.

Every 12 minutes, a woman in the U.S. dies from breast cancer. In 2024 alone, an estimated 32,660 women in California will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 4,570 will lose their lives to the disease. Experts say one-third of breast cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented with universal access to modern treatments.

“At IEHP, there are a lot of us who have been impacted. Our friends, our family, ourselves, but also our community,” said Susie about the far-reaching effects of cancer. “There are limited resources for providers and there are a lot of humans that need to get their mammograms.”

For IEHP, she continued, it means the health plan should:

• Provide transportation for members, if needed.
• Help members get appointments.
• Find mobile mammography options for rural areas.

“It really is that outreach and support,” Susie said. “We’re all trying to find ways to make services more available.” 

And as a reminder to herself and everyone around her, Susie just looks into a mirror. 

“If I’m going to ask patients to go get their preventive care, their mammograms, their immunizations, their colonoscopy, all the things they need to do, and I haven’t done it … how can I really say that with a straight face?” she said. “We should all get our wellness visits done. Don’t wait for your wife, your mom, your sister to schedule your appointment. “It’s so important that we take advantage of the opportunities to identify things early. Wellness visits are important. They do save lives.