Hi, I'm Sarah. I’m a 33 year old living in New York City, a place I've called home for most of my life. In 2019, I took a genetic test for the BRCA genetic mutation that would come back positive. 

On average, a woman with a BRCA mutation has up to a 70% chance of getting breast cancer by age 80. Despite years of funding and research, there are only two ways for those living with BRCA mutations to combat our high risk of developing cancer: undergoing intensive screenings every six months, or choosing to have invasive preventative mastectomies. 

Breast cancer is popularly believed to affect women over 50, so the prospect of me being a cancer patient so young was very strange, but very real. My mother is a breast cancer survivor, her mother died from ovarian cancer, and my other grandmother was also diagnosed breast cancer; doctors often looked at me as though I was already sick. Last October, following two and a half years of screenings and some scares, I ultimately underwent a preventative double-mastectomy.

This October - the one-year anniversary of my double-mastectomy, and breast cancer awareness month - I am raising money for Project Renewal’s mobile mammography program, the ScanVan. The ScanVan (pictured above) brings free breast cancer screening to under-resourced and uninsured individuals throughout NYC, meeting a critical need. Indeed, one in every eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and a third of all new female cancers diagnosed will be breast cancer. 

Screenings like those provided by the ScanVan save lives; screening saved my mothers' life, prolonged my grandmothers' lives, and screening alongside preventative care saved my life. Yet economic, geographical, cultural, and many other barriers prevent so many from accessing mammograms  in the greater NYC area. While there is no cure yet for breast cancer, screening and early detection are what give women a chance to beat it. Please help me and Project Renewal make screening more accessible for those who need it most, and give the women of NYC access to this life-saving technology.

Donations in any amount are appreciated and help fund the following expenses:

• $50: free breast health educational material
• $150: one free mammography screening
• $250: follow-up care for abnormal findings

Thank you!