– 12th Annual Pink Runway Raises Nearly $650,000 to Expand Life-Saving Screenings –
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NEW YORK – When 12 women strutted down the runway in Williamsburg’s hip Weylin venue on October 1, sporting custom Dotti dresses, they weren’t selling glamor – they were selling hope. All 12 have survived breast cancer, thanks to the care and support they received at Maimonides Breast Center, the love of their families and friends, and above all else, their incredible perseverance.

Move over, Kendall Jenner – these are the real supermodels, spreading a message of hope to other women, helping to raise almost $650,000 to increase life-saving screenings, and looking absolutely fabulous.

“It is really important that you find your care team because they are the people who are going to guide you on this journey. As a young woman – a woman of color – at times, doctors did not listen to me. [I found Dr. Pat Borgen at Maimonides.] Dr. Borgen treated me like his daughter when I walked in,” said Sharmila Ali, breast cancer survivor and Pink Runway model. “I was given a 22 % chance of survival. I firmly believe none of us are just statistics.”

“I don’t look at cancer like it’s the end. I look at it like it was the beginning of a new life for me, a new journey,” said Andria Faraday, breast cancer survivor and Pink Runway model. Andria was diagnosed while five months pregnant. “The team, the doctors, everyone at Maimonides – I am here because of Maimonides. My son is here because of Maimonides.”

Each model wore a custom-designed dress by Dhinora Montalvo, lead designer and president of Dotti, a renowned fashion brand celebrated for its stylish and versatile swim cover-ups. Dotti has once again demonstrated its commitment to empowering women and supporting breast cancer awareness through its exclusive sponsorship of the Pink Runway.

The event’s honorees included Jennifer Eisendstadt with the Wings of Healing Award and Dr. Jessica Torrente with the Healthcare Excellence Award.

“I feel incredibly undeserving of receiving an award, especially in the company of all these brave women who battled cancer and won, and the amazing staff–doctors, nurses, techs, and receptionists. I’m humbled to be here,” said Jennifer Eisenstadt. “I have gotten to see the extraordinary care that Maimonides provides. Since opening in 2009, Maimonides has provided more than 200,000 mammograms and I hope we can increase that number exponentially with the success of this evening.”

“I am so incredibly honored to receive this beautiful award. I want to say thank you to our beautiful patients for being willing to share their inspiring stories of strength and hope. These stories are the reason I became a physician,” said Dr. Jessica Torrente, Director, Division of Breast Imaging, X-Ray, Radiology, Maimonides. “We feel very passionate about early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and we feel very proud to be serving our community in Brooklyn and beyond.”

“It’s our privilege to honor the journeys of our breast cancer patients and survivors. Together, we are paving the way for more people to join the ranks of these brave women here tonight as breast cancer survivors,” said Ken Gibbs, President and CEO, Maimonides Health. “We also want to recognize Dr. Borgen and the entire Breast Center team for all of their efforts — for making it their life’s work to fight this disease. We are grateful for how they are here for our community day in and day out, and for the care they have offered to every patient who walks through the Breast Center’s doors.”

Every dollar raised by Pink Runway will go directly to purchasing much- needed imaging equipment, which will increase the Center’s breast imaging capacity by 20%.

About Maimonides Breast Cancer Center: The Maimonides Breast Cancer Center was the first to open in Brooklyn, remains the largest cancer center in the borough, and is ranked among the top 5% nationally. Top-ranked Maimonides’ breast cancer surgeons, oncologists, psychiatrists and psychologists, radiologists and more within the field, work collaboratively to combat these statistics and to develop advanced therapies and technologies that make breast cancer more treatable than ever. In the United States, about 1 in 8 women, or 13% of the female population, will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. In New York State, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. For additional information about the nationally recognized clinical services at Maimonides Breast Cancer Center, please visit https://maimo.org/treatments-care/cancer-center/breast-cancer/.