(Atlanta, GA) In 2010, Atlanta native Anisa Palmer started the non-profit I Will Survive, Inc. "to provide economic support, prevention education, and health and wellness services to those at higher risk and affected by breast cancer."
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What led Anisa to start this organization?
Anisa: "My mom was 38 years young and she was adopted and didn't know a lot of family history and was diagnosed with stage 4 invasive breast cancer. The doctors gave her six months to live and unfortunately left a husband and five children behind. One of those children decided to join the military and after two tours in Iraq, started in I Will Survive in honor of her mother. That person's me."
Anisa: “I get to do the most amazing work, serving all across the Atlanta region…keeping survivors in their homes, paying their rent and their mortgage so they can focus on surviving and beating the cancer.”
Are early screenings important?
Anisa: "It is so, so important. It makes my heart so sad when we're out in the community and we have mothers and fathers and single folks who, 'it's you know, my grandma had it, I'm never gonna have it, I'm not worried about it, I'm not thinking about it' or who don't know about access to genetic testing to know what their risks look like."
How have people responded?
Anisa: "Even though we've done so much with early detection and screening but unfortunately we're still seeing a lot of families--single moms predominately--who either put their screenings off or are getting it earlier and earlier so instead of waiting for that baseline at 40, we have a lot of young ladies in their thirties that are being diagnosed. Things have changed and we continue to stay innovative and do our community needs assessment every year so we can really identify where we can best serve our community."
How has Anisa's faith guided her?
Anisa: "My faith has helped in so many avenues. Every step I take, it's a prayer...in hospitals, doing home visits with families.
I remember it was a 7-year-old boy in Northside hospital and this young man asked me, 'Is my mom gonna die?' I had to pray in that moment, 'God, please give me the right words to be able to tell this young child.' I can't even remember the exact words that I used but I know that God definitely guided me through that. This little boy hugged me and his mom is stage 3, it went to stage 4, metastasized to her bones, she had blood clots...I'm happy to say she's living. She's cancer free and her son is thriving and they're doing really, really great. They're in stable housing, she's back working again, she's making an income and having a better life for herself and her child."