Student uses academic interest, tragedy close to home to raise cancer awareness

Ilana Silverman / Contributing Writer

As a busy college student, Paola Rodriguez makes time to work on a cause that is close to her heart.

As a senior juggling a double major in Psychology and Biology at the University, Rodriguez also dedicates her time on Saturdays as a community partner at The Women’s Breast Health Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on informing women about breast health.

“For The Women’s Breast Health Initiative, since […] I have been doing it for a long time, I only need to practice the presentation and go on Saturday with the best attitude,” she said.

Rodriguez has always had a passion for helping others.  In her home country of Colombia, she volunteered with children that were supported by the government by teaching and providing supplies for them.

When she moved to Miami in 2009, Rodriguez was inspired to focus her energy on cancer awareness due to her cousin’s battle with breast cancer.

She then found The Women’s Breast Health Initiative to help spread awareness.

“I thought this would be a good way to honor her,” she said. Within months of volunteering at the organization, Rodriguez’s cousin passed away.

“I realized the reason she [passed] was because she didn’t have the tools to save her life and that is important about what we do with the organization,” she said. “Sometimes, when you have tragedies so close to home, that’s when you realize that something needs to be done.”

She took loss and turned it into a motivation to help women like her cousin have a better understanding of fighting and preventing breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer that women are diagnosed with worldwide, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, but many women are unaware of how to lower their risk to the disease.

The Women’s Breast Health Initiative was established in 2005 by Andrea Ivory, a breast cancer survivor. Volunteers of the organization go door to door and educate women about breast cancer and heart disease.

Women who are at risk are offered free screenings by clinicians on mobile mammography vans as well as the opportunity to meet with a nutrition specialist in order to create a nutrition and exercise plan for better health.

The organization has currently visited more than 67,000 houses and begins its outreach up again on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Rodriguez said the Women’s Breast Health Initiative turned her and others involved into neighborhood superheroes. Along with other community partners, Rodriguez serves as a leader of the organization and trains the new volunteers.

“We are like backbone of the organization. We are there to guide new volunteers into what we do,” Rodriguez said.

The community partners have more experience with the organization and know the program well, so they serve as guidance to the new volunteers and can answer any questions they may come across.

Rodriguez strongly encourages people to get involved and volunteer in their communities. There are so many causes out there, she said, that everyone can find something they can identify with that motivates them to help others.

“Volunteers are needed everywhere — like, everywhere — and, if you have noticed, there are organizations for every single disease there is.”

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