Nearly 64,000 people were present on Saturday to raise money and awareness for breast cancer at the 10th annual Susan G. Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure.

Every year, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation sustains breast cancer survivors and tries to save lives and energize science to find a cure. The foundation was founded by Nancy Brinker in 1982, as a tribute for her 36-year-old sister, killed by the disease.

The event, involving a 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) run or walk, raised $3.3 million from donations and pledges. There were about 66,000 participants in last year’s race raising only 2.6 million, so this year was quite a success.

Race for the Cure, in which an all-pink contingent of roughly 4,000 survivors made their way down Market Street, promotes screenings and early detection. The other participating in the Race wore signs on their backs identifying the mothers, sisters, lovers and friends they honored Saturday.

About 75 percent of the money raised goes to research and helping women pay for mammograms, while the other 25 percent goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

On a national level, breast cancer represents the second leading cause of cancer death for women. The first cause if lung cancer. The American Cancer Society presented some rather troubling statistics about this year’s health expectations: apparently, more than 180,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer this year and close to 40,000 will die from it.

Today, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.