As October draws to a close, so does Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, that doesn’t mean that support for breast cancer patients and survivors — and their loved ones too — here in Denton will stop at the end of the month.
In fact, local organization Rockers 4 Knockers is hosting its All 80’s Dance Party at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios on Saturday, Nov. 4. All money raised at this show will go into the newly official R4K fund, which provides connections to mental health services for people who have been affected by breast cancer.
“It doesn’t even have to be the person that’s battling cancer to use the R4K fund,” Rockers 4 Knockers co-founder and producer Beth Heffernan said. “It could be a family member or caregiver or someone that has lost someone to breast cancer.
“I mean, anyone impacted in some way by breast cancer. That’s [who] we want to help.”
The R4K fund is Rockers 4 Knockers’ standalone fund that works to support a platform where people can find connections to care, and also where mental health providers can apply to be included in their list of licensed therapists.
The first Rockers 4 Knockers fundraising show was in 2012, when Heffernan’s grandmother was battling breast cancer for the second time. Her band, LoveSick Mary, which was named after her grandmother, performed alongside a few other bands to raise about $100.
Heffernan said she donated the money to the American Cancer Society in her grandmother’s name. Although her grandmother died in 2014, Heffernan wondered what she would think of how much the show has grown.
“She knew about [Rockers 4 Knockers],” Heffernan said. “I just can’t even imagine what she would think about it today, like where we started and where we are now.”
Beth Heffernan’s husband and LoveSick Mary bandmate Shane Heffernan is also heavily involved in the event. Apart from performing with the band, he also helped book other bands to round out the entire event.
“We try to go for people that support the cause because it is a charity show and everything that we make goes back into the charity,” Shane said. “We get a lot of volunteers based upon that alone.”
Over the next several years, the event continued to grow and donate proceeds to organizations including American Cancer Society and Stand Up 2 Cancer. This year, Rockers 4 Knockers added a second event in Dallas with the same mission and different performers, in addition to Denton’s annual event in November.
In 2015, to draw in a bigger audience, Beth decided to add burlesque performers to the lineup. There were still live bands, but the burlesque performers would perform with the live music. Drag performers were also added to the lineup in later years.
One performer who has been involved in the show from the beginning is Denton’s Onyx Fury, who describes himself as an “androgynous-based burlesque performer.” He found out about Rockers 4 Knockers from a friend and wanted to get involved to support the cause.
He said he continues to perform in the show each year because it brings hope to people who have been affected by breast cancer.
“You know, there’s a lot of times we feel like we go through things and we become broken,” Fury said. “But the beautiful thing about broken crayons is they still color.”
Fury said his aunt is healing after battling breast cancer about two years ago. His father was diagnosed with bone cancer earlier this year, he said, and when he first found out about the diagnosis, he initially thought he wouldn’t be able to participate in this year’s show.
“Then I was like, wait a minute,” Fury said. “This is why you do the show.”
His fellow Rockers 4 Knockers performers sent him a video with words of support and encouragement. He said many performers come back every year and look forward to the annual show every November.
This year’s ’80s-themed show will feature The Cars tribute band Grand Theft Auto and drag and burlesque tributes to Olivia Newton-John, who died last year after a long battle with breast cancer.
Beth said that although the show is fun and entertaining, the main focus is on helping people affected by breast cancer.
Since 2021, instead of being donated to other cancer-focused organizations, proceeds from the Rockers 4 Knockers shows have gone to the R4K fund. This fund supports mental health services that are available to people who have or have had breast cancer and their loved ones.
Beth calls herself a mental health advocate and said it’s important to prioritize mental health when a loved one is battling cancer.
“It’s stuff that people don’t think about,” Beth said. “I lost my grandmother to breast cancer and my aunt was her caregiver. And I know she could have used someone to talk to.”
Beth said the Rockers 4 Knockers show promotes support and positivity, bringing together performers and audience members of many different backgrounds. Although she spends a lot of her time working as a hairstylist, running her food truck Collie’s Kitchen and raising her daughter, she said that all of her free time goes into “tirelessly” working on this event.
“We’ve had people come to the show that are battling breast cancer,” Beth said. “And they come up to me and say, like, ‘Thank you for doing what you do’ … that warms my heart more than anything. And that’s why we do it.”
To learn more about the event or to sign up for mental health services with Rockers 4 Knockers, visit rockersdallas.com.