Our Story

The African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association is a story of two friends and a mother.

Ify Anne Nwabukwu and Chinwe Otue-Agugua , M.D  were best friends who shared everything  in common, including their mothers. When Lucy Onwumah Adaba (Ify’s mum) was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990, it became personal. Lucy Adaba had no health insurance at the time of her diagnosis, being a visitor to the United States, she did not qualify for Medicaid.

Chinwe rallied her friends in the medical profession and treated Lucy Adaba pro bono.

The two friends fought hard to save the life of Lucy Adaba. Lucy survived after treatment and went back to her home town where she received little or no follow up treatment.

She lived for seventeen more years and finally died of breast cancer metastasis to her liver on April 26, 2007.

On September 11, 2002, twelve years after her mother’s diagnosis, Ify’s best friend was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

She knew right away that something had to be done. She no longer had time to think about what needed to be done.  This was time for action. Chinwe fought gallantly for six years but also lost her battle to breast cancer on October 29, 2008.

Established in 2004, AWCAA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to improving health care delivery services to African immigrant women and their families.

AWCAA was founded by a coalition of African women health professionals in order to address disparities in awareness, prevention and access to quality healthcare services for African communities that face cancer, especially the underserved and uninsured.

AWCAA provides culturally and linguistically appropriate educational materials and programs that address the African immigrant needs in cancer care.