I am Painted Pink for the fundamental gap between young women and breast health education. In 2011, I found two painful lumps in my breasts and as a result I had two lumpectomies. Though my diagnosis came back negative for cancer, the feeling of helplessness never left. During my experience, I noticed a severe lack of resources available for young adults to advocate for themselves. Being planted in the reality of women’s health and the disparities, I grew a passion to create a platform that helped young women advocate for their own health.
What motivates me to serve is that black women have a higher mortality rate with breast cancer and much lower preventive measure for early detection. If my personal experience with breast cancer lit the fire in me to create a NGO that advocates for women’s health, then the statistics and breast cancer data for Georgians fanned the flames. The more I researched, the more women I met that shared their diagnosis stories. Women in their twenties and thirties with no family history of breast cancer, and who did not meet the standard criteria for breast cancer risk, were more commonplace than I anticipated.
What I bring to the Pink Table is…a safe space for support and knowledge sharing, and reinforcing the importance of breast health education for young women. Painted Pink gives voice to an underserved group of young breast cancer survivors that need resources from health care professionals and education on consciously making better lifestyle choices for their health in beauty, food, and exercise choices.
Alma Mater: University of Central Florida
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Occupation: Recruiting Manager
Other Involvement: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
