OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Recognizing Andrea Ivory

Floor Speech

Date: July 27, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to Andrea Ivory, a breast cancer survivor and the founder of The Women's Breast Health Initiative (WBHI) in Hialeah, Florida.

Ms. Ivory was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. While she was fortunate that her breast cancer was detected early and that she had insurance and access to doctors, she knew that many other women did not. To better the odds for at-risk women with fewer resources, she founded the Women's Breast Health Initiative in 2008. WBHI is an outreach organization dedicated to educating women about the importance of breast health and providing them with the resources to beat the disease.

Since it was founded, WBHI has delivered literature to 50,000 households and by use of a mammography van, the organization has provided free breast cancer screening for thirteen hundred women. For her contributions to the fight against breast cancer, Ms. Ivory was named Cable News Network's (CNN) Hero, in 2009. CNN ``Heroes'' is a tribute to ordinary people changing the world.

Experts estimate that about one out of every eight women born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time during her life. The strongest risk factor for breast cancer is age. A woman's risk of developing this disease increases as she gets older. However, thanks the work Ms. Ivory is doing and improvements in cancer treatment and early detection, millions of women and thousands of men are surviving breast cancer today.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too. Today, there are more than 2.9 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

I am honored to recognize Andrea Ivory, a breast cancer survivor and founder of The Women's Breast Health Initiative, for her dedication and commitment to our community.

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