The Great Pumpkin Race for Cancer Research is Set for October 25

Lace up those sneakers because The Great Pumpkin Run for Cancer Research is happening on Saturday, October 25.

The Great Pumpkin Race for Cancer Research is a 5K road race, pumpkin run, 1/2 mile kids run, and 5K health walk. It is one of two annual fundraisers put together by the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center and is being put on by the center, Sportscpectrum and Centenary College this year.

The fun get started at 8 a.m. with the 1/2 mile kids run. The 5K run, 5K Kids Pumpkin Run and the 5K Health Walk will kick off at 8:30 a.m. There will also be a costume contest hosted by SWEPCO following the run.

It's an even the the entire family!

Here is everything you need to know about the run:

Great Pumpkin Run Details

Here is some more information about the Great Pumpkin Run from the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center:

The Great Pumpkin Run for Cancer Research is one of only two fundraisers that is hosted by FWCC annually.  The money raised by these two events helps to fund the Idea Grants that make our scientists so successful in obtaining national research grants.  These national research grants help to keep our other health and community outreach programs sustainable.  Feist-Weiller is a very necessary institution for the improvement of the health of the residents of Louisiana (with some of the highest cancer-related statistics), and the growth of understanding cancer and furthering cancer prevention world-wide.

Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is dedicated to the treatment of cancer, improving cancer cure rates, community education and prevention through cancer screening programs.  Our Cancer Center also has internationally recognized scientists who engage in rigorous basic cancer research.  FWCC has leading programs in gene therapy, cancer prevention and bone marrow transplantation, as well as basic science programs investigating the causes of cancer.

FWCC has clinical trials available for cancer treatment, control and prevention that focus on all stages of different cancers and blood diseases. The Clinical Trials Office offers community education to teach the benefit of clinical trials. Our Center leads enrollment for numerous clinical trials in the Southwest Oncology Group, a national clinical research organization. This is accomplished despite our relative small size when compared to sites like The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

FWCC is one of eight facilities in the U.S. with a dedicated Sickle Cell day unit that provides an Emergency Room alternative for patients experiencing pain crises. The Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program helps determine cancer risk by testing high-risk individuals for genetic mutations. Other hereditary cancers addressed include colon, endometrial, kidney, tumors of unknown origin and other rare hereditary syndromes.

FWCC and LSU Health Shreveport Dept. of Otolaryngology provides free oral, head and neck cancer screenings each year as they educate the community about risk factors of this sixth most common type of cancer in the U.S.

FWCC has one of the largest Oncology Fellowship programs in the Southeast United States with 16 fellows this year. More than one quarter of hematologists and oncologists practicing in Louisiana trained at FWCC. Even before Hurricane Katrina, FWCC has maintained the largest oncology practice in the state with more than 8,000 active patients. Approximately 40,000 outpatient visits occur monthly.

FWCC reaches out to rural Louisiana communities and provides free cancer screenings for about 3,000 people every year through Feist-Weiller Cancer Center’s own Partners in Wellness program. Screenings include mammograms, pap smears, prostate, and colon cancer screenings. Partners in Wellness has two recreational vehicles that have been equipped as state of the art mobile clinics, and our program operates one of only three 3-D mammography units in the United States.

FWCC at LSU Health Shreveport is home to one of six St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Domestic Affiliate Programs in the United States.  Doctors, nurses and other health professionals specially trained to follow detailed St. Jude protocols see approximately 200 pediatric patients annually.

Feist-Weiller Cancer Center employs 45 full-time faculty and provides more than 250 professional jobs.  Our Idea Grants are leveraged to bring in approximately $11.3 million in national cancer research grants annually.  For every $1 million in grant money that we receive, 20 FWCC jobs are created.