Nearly 300 guests in black tie gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami on Friday, October 2, for the 5th Annual Light Up the Night Gala, a benefit hosted by UR Luminous that opened Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the city. Proceeds went to the Luminous Advocacy Project, which says its work centers on early detection, breast health education and equitable access to care.
The product behind the night has a research trail. A 2021 study of a red LED device named Pink Luminous Breast, now indexed on PubMed Central, compared it with mammography across 170 participants. The authors reported 89.6 percent sensitivity and 96.4 percent specificity for spotting breast abnormalities, against adjusted mammogram values of 86.3 and 68.9 percent. They also wrote that the device is meant to complement mammography, not replace it. According to the paper, SilkProUs and the Pink Luminous Advocacy Project funded participant stipends and a study specialist, so parties tied to the device paid for the research. UR Luminous describes the Luminous device it sells today as an at-home tool that is not a diagnostic device.
Light Up the Night Gala honors Larsa Pippen, Kiki Barth and Alexia Nepola
Three stars of The Real Housewives of Miami, Larsa Pippen, Kiki Barth and Alexia Nepola, were named Pass the Light Ambassadors and received The Luminary Award. Pippen and Nepola are main cast members on the Bravo series, while Barth has appeared as a friend of the cast since season four, according to the show's episode guides. Organizers said the trio were recognized for using their platforms to encourage people to take an active role in their own health. Romina Nabhen, creator of the Pass the Light campaign, joined them on stage.
The award also went to Drea de Matteo, who won the 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing Adriana La Cerva on The Sopranos. Julio P. Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Engineered Tax Services, was honored too. So was Ángeles Alumna, a breast cancer survivor and advocate who shared her personal journey and her advocacy through Fashion Strikes Cancer.
Mrs. Florida International 2026 Michele Reese hosted the evening, and former NFL player Vince Papale presented the awards. Marylin Dans, founder of the Luminous Advocacy Project Foundation, spoke, along with Dr. Julio Hernandez, the Foundation's chair, and medical experts Dr. Diego Illanes and Dr. Diana Caragacianu.
UR Luminous device shares the room with auctions, music and a fire dancer
Guests were welcomed with The Pale Rosé before Miami-born singer-songwriter Robbie Elias and his band took the stage. Organizers say Elias's credits include Grammy and Latin Grammy winning albums. Brenda Navarrete performed an African drum and song set, and a fire dancer worked the floor. Silent and live auctions offered trips to Italy, Portugal and Costa Rica, a South African safari, jewelry and a signed Bad Bunny record. According to the release, auction proceeds support the Foundation's mission.
The device got its own spotlight. UR Luminous says the Luminous is an at-home breast familiarity tool for men and women that uses red light to help users observe their breast tissue between screenings and spot anomalies a physician should examine. The company states it is an adjunct tool and not a diagnostic device.
The Luminous Advocacy Project Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. According to its website, it runs global medical missions that cover the full cost of care, including sonograms, mammograms, biopsies, transportation and, where needed, surgery, and it says patients are never billed. Through Luminous Digital Missions, clinics in developing countries can apply to become partner clinics and receive donated devices and staff training. The Foundation also offers a free self-check app in eight languages.
Organizers did not release a fundraising total for the night. That figure, and how the clinic program grows from here, are the numbers to watch. The research cited above places the technology alongside mammography, and the company's own labeling says the same.
