When Hawa Camara decided to start Together Against Breast Cancer, a nonprofit organization providing support to people with breast cancer, she drew inspiration from her own experience.

Camara was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2017 in St. Cloud, Minn., after being misdiagnosed three times in her home country of Guinea. She chose to receive treatment at Mayo Clinic, which brought her to Rochester.

After receiving her diagnosis, she kept it private for four years because of stigmas surrounding cancer.

“I myself kept my disease a secret from family, from friends for four years because of the cultural background I came from,” she said, “and the belief that when you have cancer, you’re almost seen in society as worthless or used or seen as dead when you’re very well alive.”

Camara said her battle with breast cancer prompted her to want to bring more awareness to the disease and work to destigmatize it. This led her to found Together Against Breast Cancer in 2021. The binational nonprofit organization aims to serve people in the United States and Guinea, as Camara said the medical system in Guinea is “almost nonexistent” for cancer patients.

Hawa Camara, founder of Together Against Breast Cancer / Submitted

One of the long-term goals of the organization is enhancing cancer care in Guinea by training medical professionals, providing equipment and, eventually, establishing a radiation treatment facility.

Camara said other goals of Together Against Breast Cancer for both Guinea and the United States include raising awareness of breast cancer by providing “a culturally appropriate education to women from different backgrounds dealing with breast cancer.”

The nonprofit also plans to create a supportive community for both breast cancer patients and their caregivers. Starting in April, the organization will host Zoom support meetings in two separate groups: One group for stages one through three and another group for stage four.

“The reason for that is that the more advanced you are in your stages, the more isolated you become,” Camara said.

She said people with breast cancer in stage one, two or three often need to feel hope that their treatment can still bring a cure, but stage four patients go through “totally different circumstances” and need a different form of support. She wants the support meetings to bring a sense of community and togetherness to patients in every stage.

Currently, Together Against Breast Cancer is starting to become active in the Rochester community by working with kids to make greeting cards for local breast cancer patients. Camara said people who want to get involved with Together Against Breast Cancer can visit the organization’s website, www.ecsguin.com.

“The community needs to really rally around these patients,” she said, “because cancer is probably not the only thing killing them, but it’s also the solitude of it that’s killing them.”

Camara also had advice for people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. She encouraged them to embrace the information they have from their care teams and accept their emotions.

“It’s okay to cry,” she said. “Every emotion you’re feeling right now, it’s okay. But after those emotions, believe that there is hope. There is hope at the end of the tunnel.”

Lexie Pitzen is a SE Minnesota native with a bachelor’s degree in Information, Communication and Technology from Florida State University. When she’s not writing, she enjoys making art, drinking coffee, and being outdoors.