Elevating the Experiences of Women of Color in the Breast Cancer Community

Women of coloration are underrepresented in the breast most cancers neighborhood. This group is altering that.

When Jasmine Souers and Marissa Thomas had been recognized with breast most cancers, it was almost unimaginable to seek out girls who regarded like them represented in academic supplies.

Scrolling previous dozens of pictures of white girls with breast most cancers was irritating, and it made them really feel alone.

That’s why, in 2019, Souers and Thomas teamed as much as launch For the Breast of Us, a company empowering girls of coloration affected by breast most cancers to attach with different girls who appear like them, really feel like them, and are navigating the identical challenges.

Yet regardless of constructing a thriving neighborhood, there was nonetheless an absence of illustration in the pictures of what breast most cancers seems to be like. So, Souers and Thomas determined it was time to do one thing about it themselves.

For its new images and storytelling marketing campaign, #WhenYouSeeUs, For the Breast of Us recruited members of its Breast Cancer Baddie Ambassador group to take part in a photograph shoot and share what they need individuals to recollect once they see them out in the world.

“Being part of this photo shoot gave us the opportunity to be the women we were once searching for,” Thomas says. “It’s an amazing feeling to create something that screams, ‘You’re not alone!’ It’s a big deal for our community.”

Souers and Thomas say their hope is that ladies who are sometimes missed lastly really feel seen in the faces of the girls courageous sufficient to grow to be the individuals they as soon as looked for themselves.

“This photo shoot is our way of saying, ‘We’re here, we matter, and we’re done dying in the dark and suffering in silence,’” Souers says.

“We are living boldly and loudly. And as long as we’re alive, we’ll be fighting to make the journeys easier for the women diagnosed after us.”

Article initially appeared on July 15, 2021 on Bezzy’s sister web site, Healthline. Last medically reviewed on July 19, 2021.