A Seattle woman who said she survived breast cancer three times and helped raise over $ 400,000 for charity never had cancer, reports revealed Saturday.
Tracy Dart led fundraising efforts for her “Team Tracy” for a decade before officials in a local Susan G. Komen office found out last week she hasn’t been diagnosed with cancer.
A Volkswagen dealership owner who has partnered with Dart in charity work told KOMO-TV that someone from Team Tracy gave him the news Friday.
“The first words were, ‘Tracy doesn’t have cancer,’” said Matthew Welch of Auburn Volkswagen. He replied, “‘Hooray, she’s cured,’” Welch told the TV station.
“‘No, she’s never had cancer’ were the second words,” he said. “It just blew our mind.”
via komonews.comTracy Dart, 41, never got diagnosed with cancer once but raised money for charity by talking about three different breast cancer bouts, reports revealed Saturday.
Officials in Komen’s Puget Sound, Wash., office have been in contact with Dart’s family after learning Dart hasn’t had cancer, said spokeswoman Christi Ball Loso. Dart, who was never paid by the breast cancer foundation, raised over $ 28,500 for Komen personally and Team Tracy members in Seattle and California took in more than $ 414,000 for the charity, Loso said.
“We are sad for Tracy and her family and hope that she, and they, will find healing in the days ahead. The Team Tracy community has been a steadfast supporter of our mission to end breast cancer since 2006,” Loso said in an email. “This money has been used as intended – for Komen’s research and community health programs.”
A representative for the Seattle Police Department told the Daily News police are aware of the situation but didn’t know if they had opened an investigation into Dart.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Team Tracy collected other donations, and efforts to reach Dart were unsuccessful. Dart is a marketing business partner whose personal story and fundraising have helped her become something of a local celebrity.
via komonews.comDart helped raise over $ 400,000 for the Susan G. Komen foundation.
“It’s hard sometimes to come back and be like, ‘Wow, I’m battling it again,” Dart, 41, told KOMO at an event earlier this year.
Her personal Twitter account still listed her as a “3x breast cancer survivor” Monday but a link to a blog for Team Tracy was locked from uninvited users. Facebook pages for Team Tracy, We Heart Tracy Dart and the marketing company, Brand Baby, had been disabled Monday.
The West Seattle Herald published a profile of Dart in 2010, when she said she had been in her latest bout for two years and had put together a team of 21 people for Komen’s annual Race for the Cure.
“I’ve tried so hard to find a good reason why I had to go through this, why this has this happened to me, and why I am now having to go through this a second time,” Dart said. “All I can think of is that I am meant to get out and spread the word that breast cancer doesn’t just affect older women.”
via komonews.comLocal car dealership owner, Matthew Welch, stressed that Team Tracy had done a lot of good in spite of Dart’s faked cancer.
Welch, the car dealership owner, stressed that Team Tracy had done “so much good” in his interview with the TV station.
“I wouldn’t say we’re angry,” Welch said. “I would say she needs help. And we hope that she gets it.”
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