A Legacy Beyond the Fairway

A routine mammogram in 2013 may have saved Janet Herdman’s life.

Janet caught her cancer early, which allowed her to get treatment for a full recovery. As a result, she became the very success story she envisioned for others in her community.

While undergoing treatment, Janet found support from her fellow committee members at Staley Farms Golf Club. She and other women formed the group in 2012 to raise money and provide breast cancer screenings in the Northland.

The committee, inspired by two sisters who had lost a sibling to breast cancer, created a golf tournament called Fore the Cure to help uninsured and underinsured people gain access to mammograms and diagnostic services.

“After my diagnosis, this cause became even more important to me,” Janet says. “Fifteen years later, several of us from that original committee have carried that mission forward.”

That mission has touched thousands of lives.

On Oct. 3, the women behind Fore the Cure hosted their final golf tournament at Staley Farms, ending one of the most successful grassroots fundraising efforts in Saint Luke's Foundation history.  

Since 2012, the tournament raised more than $700,000 to support mammograms and diagnostic breast screenings across the Northland.  

The love of the game

The Staley Farms committee chose Saint Luke's because they knew their fundraising dollars could directly support women in their own community.

“We wanted the money to stay in the Northland,” Janet says. “While we can't help women through their treatments directly, we want to give them the comfort and support they need to get a diagnosis.”

Each year, Fore the Cure transformed Staley Farms into a celebratory event with a powerful purpose. United by the love of golf, players filled the course while volunteers organized auctions, raffles, games, meals, and entertainment.  

What started as a local fundraising effort grew into one of the Foundation's largest affiliated events, supported by participants, sponsors, donors, and volunteers who returned every year.

By removing cost as a barrier for uninsured women to access screening mammograms and other diagnostic services, tournament proceeds helped transform moments of fear into moments of confidence and hope.

While the recipients remain anonymous, the impact is undeniable. In 2025 alone, the program helped detect 139 cancers. This year, as of September 2026, the program has detected 73 cancers. In addition to those numbers, Janet wants to remember the mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and neighbors whose lives have been touched by the generosity of Fore the Cure.  

“People who can't afford a mammogram often can't afford the diagnostic procedures that come after an abnormal result,” Janet says. “We don’t want people to go home and get overly anxious because not everyone with an abnormal mammogram result has breast cancer. That's what we've tried to help with.”

The legacy continues

As the committee approached its 15th and final tournament, members wanted to ensure their mission continued after the last putt.

Working alongside Saint Luke's Foundation, they established the Staley Farms Fore the Cure Endowment Fund for Comprehensive Breast Cancer Care at Saint Luke’s North Hospital, creating a permanent source of support for the mission they spent more than a decade building.  

For the committee, that continuation matters as much as anything accomplished during the past 15 years.

“We're going to leave it in good hands,” Janet says. “The mission of what we wanted to do, helping women in the Northland through diagnostic efforts, will continue.”

The final Fore the Cure tournament may be complete, but its impact is far from over.

Because of one community's commitment, thousands of golfers, donors, sponsors, and volunteers helped create something that extends well beyond a day on the course. They built a legacy of access, early detection, and hope for women across the Northland.

And long after the tournament's final year, that legacy will continue helping save lives.

Fundraising with Saint Luke’s

Your generosity can offer hope and healing to so many. To create a fundraiser or host an event to help Saint Luke’s continue to develop lifesaving research and provide exceptional care to our community, visit Give.SaintLukesKC.org.