›› Fearless Females: Kerri Marie Conner

My name is Kerri Marie Conner, 34. I am a daughter, a sister, a mother, a business owner, an author, and as of August 2009, I am a 1 year breast cancer survivor.

On April 16, 2008 - ironically, 10 years to the day my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer - I was told I had 3 masses in my left breast, all of which were cancerous. I had been getting mammograms ever since I was 29 years old because of my family history with the disease, but I never thought I would get the disease, especially at such an early age.

It’s hard to explain the emotions that were going through my mind after my initial diagnosis. Being the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, my faith was strong. Rather than thoughts of death, my thoughts were about my daughter, Madison. I was only 33 and I had such an aggressive form of cancer. My mother was only 40 and her cancer was very advanced. What does this mean for Madison? My second thought
was about my physical appearance. I am a single woman who is about to loose her breasts and hair. I felt as though my social life was over. And lastly, I was in my 20’s when my mother was battling the disease. I saw what she went through between the hospital visits, chemo, surgeries, and I did not want or think I could handle it the way she did.

I am happy to say that 1 year later, after 8 weeks of chemo, a double mastectomy, another 8 weeks of chemo and 30 radiation treatments, I am still standing.

As a result of my experiences, I have written a children’s book due to be released December 2009 titled,“My Mommy Has Breast Cancer, But She Is Ok.” I am hoping this book will serve as encouragement to young mothers with young children. Giving them hope, that they too will make it.

My mother and I are also co-founders of a breast cancer awareness campaign in Philadelphia called“Praise Is The Cure”. Through our non profit initiative we provide mammograms and health screenings to underserved women in the Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. This year we, distributed over 25,000 pieces of breast health literature through faith based organizations on our city wide Praise Is The
Cure Sunday. Our mission is to motivate, educate and encourage African American women to get breast health screenings and treatments.
The journey that every women diagnosed with breast cancer has is different. One thing is for sure, we must all stand on the shoulders of the survivors that have come before us, and we must all fight. Fight for a cure, so little girls like my Madison can have a world without breast cancer.