Shay Sharpe,
41, was born and raised in Baltimore Maryland. Shay is a 2 time
breast cancer survivor and Madame President of Shay Sharpe’s Pink
Wishes (SSPW), a National 501(c)3 non-profit organization that
advocates, befriends cancer patients, educates, restores hope,
provides scholarships and grants final & Christmas wishes to young
women and children who have been affected by breast cancer. Shay
Sharpe’s Pink Wishes even has their very own Maryland license
plate!
Shay founded SSPW in
2011, after seeing firsthand the void in services for young
women. Even though Shay had no family history of breast
cancer, she was diagnosed with Stage III ER/PR+ breast cancer at
age 26. Needless to say, Shay was often the youngest person in the
waiting room, during her oncology visits. One week before her 27th
birthday, Shay had her cancer tumors, lymph nodes and both breasts
removed.
Over the years, Shay
has endured multiple cancer scares, surgeries, complications,
broken bones, scans, hundreds of doctor appointments, thousands of
pills, and every side effect under the sun, only to be told exactly
10 years later, at age 36, her breast cancer had returned. (Keep in
mind that she already had her breasts removed, so that ends the
argument that women can’t get breast cancer again, after a
bilateral mastectomy.) In the media, we often hear them pushing the
age 40 when it comes to breast cancer, but if Shay hadn’t found her
own lump on both occasions, chances are she wouldn’t have lived to
see age 40.
Shay, Shay’s photos
and her selfless philanthropic contributions, have been featured
on/in countless publications around the world, including The Today
Show, Huffington Post, UK’s Barcroft Media, Allure Magazine and
People.com to name a few. Shay also sits on the board for the Young
Womens Breast Cancer Initiative at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Be sure to follow
Shay Sharpe’s Pink Wishes on Instagram and visit their website via
www.ShaySharpesPinkWishes.org , to donate, read about past wish
recipients, volunteer or catch up on upcoming events.
And here are some
great pics of Shay: