COUTURE FOR CANCER – Where Fashion Meets Compassion

September 2, 2025

Story by Jeanie Edgmon

Sharon Payne – Founder Bra Couture KC

Kansas City’s annual Couture for Cancer runway event is unlike any other fashion show. Every spring, cancer survivors’ step onto the runway wearing one-of-a-kind couture pieces created by local designers. The designs, bold and imaginative, are more than fashion—they represent strength, resilience, and the courage of those surviving and fighting cancer.
Behind the lights, glamour, and fun, Couture for Cancer is powered by Bra Couture KC (BCKC), a nonprofit founded by Sharon Payne. Its mission is clear: to raise funds for uninsured and underinsured men and women facing any type of cancer. Over the past 15 years, BCKC has raised nearly $6 million and supported more than 32,000 patients, providing everything from wigs and lymphedema garments to prescription assistance, gas and food cards, paying utilities and rent support during treatment.
This year’s event, which raised an incredible $760,000, was not just about art and fashion—it was about partnerships that drive access to care. Among the ardent supporters of this mission is Mid America Cancer Care, led by oncologist Dr. Jaswinder Singh and COO Becca Bell, both of whom brought their own unique presence to the runway.

Expanding Cancer Care Access in Kansas City

At the heart of Bra Couture KC’s mission are its hospital-based cancer service centers, which provide direct support to uninsured and underinsured patients. These centers are staffed by on-site cancer nurse navigators who help patients access lifesaving resources not covered by hospitals, Medicaid, or limited insurance plans.
Currently, six hospital centers are in operation, with plans to open four more by the end of 2025. The vision, as founder Sharon Payne explains, is bold:
“By the end of 2025, Bra Couture KC will fund on-site cancer care centers in 10 Kansas City hospitals to provide care for uninsured and underinsured men and women with all cancers. Connecting with Mid America Cancer Care allows us to expand this mission into both urban and rural communities.”
This partnership has already begun to change the landscape. With support from Dr. Singh and Mid America Cancer Care, BCKC is now working to establish a new cancer service center at a local hospital campus, as well as gas card programs in rural hospitals and clinics. These programs remove a critical barrier for many patients: transportation. Without reliable access to care, treatment schedules are often interrupted, directly affecting outcomes.

For Dr. Singh, whose career has been dedicated to treating cancer patients across Missouri and Kansas, this effort strikes deeply personal chords. His commitment is not only professional but heartfelt with a sentiment he shared in a moving poem he read from the runway:

Dr. Singh’s Poem –

Bra Couture- I’ve seen the cost when care’s denied, Not for lack of hope—but the price applied. When healing waits behind a wall, And many rise too late—or fall.

But Bra Couture threads hope with grace, It sees the soul, not just the case.
For those left out, it finds a way, To turn their night into a day.

That’s why I give, that’s why I stand—To place their care in kinder hands. For every life deserves a chance, Not just the ones with circumstance.

Mid America Cancer Care: More Than Treatment

What makes Mid America’s involvement so meaningful is that it mirrors how the organization practices medicine every day. Dr. Singh and his team have long prioritized patients who often fall through the cracks—those with limited insurance or no insurance at all.
“Cancer care doesn’t stop at the medicine,” says Becca Bell, COO of Mid America Cancer Care and a cancer survivor herself. “It extends to the everyday challenges—paying for food, keeping the lights on, getting to treatment. Partnering with organizations like Bra Couture KC allows us to support the whole patient, not just their diagnosis.”
Bell, after much encouragement, joined the Couture for Cancer runway this year. Her garment, designed and auctioned live, raised more than $75,000—an extraordinary contribution that will translate directly into patient care. For her, walking the runway was not about fashion but about standing as living proof of survival, resilience, and the importance of community support.

Designers, Survivors, and the Power of Community

The Couture for Cancer show is the result of nearly a year’s worth of dedication. Survivors and participants are paired with local fashion designers nine months before the event. Together, they collaborate on original couture garments that are ultimately auctioned to raise funds.
Each piece is a story—woven from fabric, but also from courage, creativity, and compassion. When models step onto the runway, they carry not only the design but also the story of thousands of patients who benefit from BCKC’s services.

A Shared Mission

For Mid America Cancer Care, everything begins with the patient. Every decision, every program, every partnership is guided by a single goal: ensuring that people facing cancer—especially those who are uninsured or underinsured—have access to the care they need.
“Cancer care isn’t just about treatments,” says Dr. Jaswinder Singh, founder of Mid America Cancer Care. “It’s about understanding the challenges patients face every day—transportation, medical supplies, living expenses—and finding ways to remove those barriers so they can focus on healing.”
This commitment drives Mid America to support organizations that specialize in addressing those gaps. From funding hospital-based services to creating gas card programs for rural patients, Mid America works with local nonprofits to ensure that every facet of a patient’s experience is considered.
Becca Bell, COO of Mid America Cancer Care, echoes this philosophy, bringing both professional expertise and lived experience as a cancer survivor. “We partner with organizations like Bra Couture KC because they are meeting patients where they are,” Bell says. “They’re filling critical needs—financial, emotional, practical—that hospitals and clinics often can’t address. That support is essential to improving access and reducing disparities in care.”
Mid America’s involvement is hands-on. Everyone involved attends events, walk alongside patients, and invest in programs that directly impact on the daily lives of those navigating cancer. For the community, this means seeing an organization that doesn’t just provide treatment but actively works to dismantle the obstacles that prevent people from receiving care.

Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Patients

At its heart, Mid America Cancer Care’s work is about standing shoulder-to-shoulder with patients, whether it’s walking the runway alongside survivors, funding hospital-based centers, or providing resources that allow patients to focus on recovery. Their involvement with Bra Couture KC is just one example of a broader philosophy: addressing disparities, improving access, and making sure every cancer patient has the tools to fight.
For the community, this means seeing a healthcare organization that isn’t just treating cancer—it’s treating the people who face it. And for patients, it’s the reassurance that, no matter the obstacle, there is a team in their corner, ready to help them navigate the journey toward healing.