Conquering Women’s Cancers

Before Nancy G. Brinker lost her beloved sister, Susan G. Komen, 36, to breast cancer, Brinker made her a promise to discover a cure for the disease and provide all women with access to the resources they needed to fight breast and cervical cancer.

She’s doing everything she can to make good on that promise. In 1982, Brinker established Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit that fights breast cancer by funding research, education and health services. Then, in 2018, she co-founded, with friends Julie Fisher Cummings and Laurie Silvers, the Promise Fund of Florida to serve Palm Beach County.

Headquartered in West Palm Beach, the Promise Fund of Florida, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, addresses health disparities to ensure that underserved, uninsured women have access to timely and quality breast and cervical cancer resources and treatment, with a focus on ending late-stage cancer deaths. The organization partners with local healthcare providers, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and free clinics, to provide subsidized breast and cervical screenings, diagnostic and cancer care.

“In Palm Beach County, we have some of the worst health disparities for women, especially women with breast and cervical cancer,” explains Brinker, 77, an Illinois native who lives in Palm Beach and is a breast cancer survivor herself.

“A Florida Department of Health, Division of Public Health Statistics & Performance Management 2020 study reported that by 2025, more than 1,200 women will die from breast and cervical cancer in PBC, and more than 6,800 will be diagnosed,” she says.

The inaugural Promise Fund Mammography Screening Center at FoundCare in West Palm Beach equipped with a state-of-the-art 3D mammography machine donated by Hologic®, opened in 2020 to address these disparities by offering free breast and cervical cancer screenings to uninsured women with limited financial resources.

To raise funds, the organization sponsors events like the Major Donor Dinner in March and the Scientific Forum Luncheon (in collaboration with Baptist Health Cancer Care) in April.

“We’ve educated, screened, navigated and treated more than 18,000 women in Palm Beach County — and brought on 19 patient nurse navigators,” adds Brinker, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2009.

“Generally, very early, we can find out what kind of cancer women have. If detected early, their long-term chances increase by 60%.”

For more information or to support the Promise Fund of Florida, call 877-427-7664 or visit promisefundofflorida.org.