NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 16: (L-R) Jeff Arcuri and Katie Thurston attend Breast Cancer Research Foundation New York symposium & awards luncheon at New York Hilton Midtown on October 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Breast Cancer Research Foundation)The Breast Cancer Research Foundation celebrated researchers and advancements in the field this past week, at its 2026 Symposium and Research Luncheon.
The event, which took place at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, raised $4.2 million dollars for breast cancer research and hosted almost 800 guests.
Philanthropists Karen and Rob Hale were honored at the event, with BCRF announcing a landmark $50 million dollar gift from the couple – the largest gift towards breast cancer research in history. Researcher Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD. was honored as well.
Before the event, notable BCRF luncheon attendees stopped by the pink carpet to discuss the organization and event.
“The Breast Cancer Research Foundation was founded over 30 years ago by my mother, Evelyn Lauder, first to raise awareness and then to fund research to help find a cure for breast cancer,” said BCRF Board Co-Chair William Lauder. “For 30 years now, the amazing scientists we’ve funded have made tremendous progress toward a cure, and survival rates for people diagnosed with breast cancer have gone up dramatically. But we have not yet found a cure, and we still have to find a way to help everybody who’s diagnosed.”
Lauder explained that the luncheon was an opportunity to thank the scientists that are working toward finding a cure. “Today we’re celebrating all the amazing researchers, over 280 of them, who are funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, for the work that they do.”
Also on the pink carpet was TV personality and content creator Katie Thurston, who first gained fame as a contestant on ABC’s reality show The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
“Today I’m lucky enough to be able to share my story directly with the room, and I think it’s going to be great for researchers to see what their work is contributing to,” said Thurston. “As someone who is Stage 4, I’m just excited to be alive and to have treatment options, and to know that my outcome looks a lot better than it maybe would have 10 years ago. So it’s exciting to be able to share our story and hopefully inspire others to make an impact today by making a donation.”
On stage at the event, Thurston made a personal major announcement about her own journey with cancer.
“Because of you, I am here. Thank you. But, also, because of you guys, I can announce for the first time today in public that I am currently ‘no evidence of disease.’”
On the pink carpet, Thurston explained her use of the term “Stage 4 Thriver.”
“Oftentimes in breast cancer, people talk about being a survivor, but as someone who’s Stage 4, we sometimes don’t associate that with that. We’re in this forever, and we don’t want to just survive something as awful as breast cancer,” said Thurston. “We want to thrive and live our best lives. So that’s really the word a lot of us use in the community. We have breast cancer, but we are thriving. This is a diagnosis that we know how to handle, and we’re going to keep kicking its butt.”
Thurston explained that her biggest focus in breast cancer advocacy is explaining that you can be diagnosed despite age or family history.
“I think a lot of us think it’s something that happens when we’re older, after we get our first mammogram, and unfortunately, as it stands now, we don’t even get mammograms until we’re 40,” said Thurston. “I was diagnosed at 34, and I know people as young as 19. So I just really want to educate women to be so familiar with their breasts and to bring it up with their doctor if they notice any changes, because cancer can happen to them.”
