Listen Now
What does the Energizer Bunny Hall of Fame, L’Oreal Woman of Worth, CNN Heroes, and Yoplait Champions have in common?
Andrea Ivory!
You may not know Andrea Ivory, but over 10,000 people each year are helped because she had a dream.
But before she had a dream, she had a frightening health diagnosis – breast cancer.
The year was 2004, and she was going to a Bible Study, trying to learn what her purpose in life was. They were studying the best-seller, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. She went to the doctor for her normal exam thinking that everything was fine.
But everything wasn’t fine. Her mammogram revealed that she had breast cancer. “It’s not the kind of news you ever expect happening to yourself even though I know that breast cancer does not discriminate. One in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Though her husband, Willie, knew he needed to be strong for Andrea, he was devastated. But she surprised him with her strength. She told him, “We believe the Word of God, and it’s time to put shoe leather to our faith.” (If they were going talk the talk, they were going to walk the talk!)
“Because I had early detection,” explains Andrea, “I had choices of treatment.” She went on to say, “The later the diagnosis, the fewer choices you have, and the greater the chance of dying.”
Besides getting a second opinion, Andrea focused all her efforts on learning everything she could about the treatment for breast cancer.
“While going through the treatments, I wondered how other women could afford health care. I had a wonderful husband who supported and helped me. But not every woman is so fortunate. That is when a dream dropped into my mind.
“I wrote down the dream. It became what is known today as the Women’s Breast Health Initiative.”
So by 2006 they began to put shoe leather to the pavement. Volunteers were organized to go door-to-door and alert the women to the benefits of early breast cancer detection.
While Andrea was praying and following the doctor’s treatment and getting better, she kept working, making the Women’s Breast Health Initiative (WBHI) what it is today.
Currently, WBHI’s growing group of volunteers visits 10,000 homes every year. Many women have been educated and helped, but Jewell is especially glad they knocked on her door.
Jewell wasn’t yet 40, the age when women should have their first baseline mammogram. She told WBHI volunteers, “I feel something.” That’s all they needed to hear. Quickly they arranged for a mammogram. The result came back that Jewell had Stage 2 cancer.
But the good news is that because the WBHI volunteers got her help in time, Jewell is alive and cancer free today.
Since writing her dream down and putting shoe leather on the pavement, Andrea Ivory’s dream has gained national attention. Look for her story on YouTube and CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s 360 (http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/14/andrea-ivory-how-early-detection-saved-my-life/). Most recently she was honored by the Congressional Record, 111th Congress.
Andrea’s trust in our faithful God, a wonderful husband, and a strong will to overcome helped her face and conquer the giant of breast cancer. She hopes you will take care of your health and join her in thinking Pink!
Continued at Early Breast Detection – What you Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
