Inkandescent Public Relations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hope Katz Gibbs, Director of Communication
Tigerlily Foundation, www.tigerlilyfoundation.org
703 346-6975 / hope@inkandescentpr.com

RESTON VA, MAY 25, 2009 — Tune in to the Oprah Winfrey Show today at 4pm (Monday, May 25) when Maimah Karmo, the founder of the Tigerlily Foundation, appears on the top-rated daytime talk show. This is a repeat of a show that originally aired last year. [View that here: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20080911_tows_breastcancer/12]

Following is an excerpt from the broadcast, entitled “Breast Cancer Battles,” which also features actress Christina Applegate, who had a double mastectomy soon after she landed the starring role in the ABC comedy series, Samantha Who?

“They found some funky things going on [in one breast],” Applegate shared. Doctors told her they needed to perform a biopsy. Then, the excruciating waiting game began. Not long after she got the news. “[The doctor said], ‘It came back positive,’” she says. “Right now I’m sitting here shaking remembering that moment.”

After Applegate told her story of courage and triumph, Oprah interviewed Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and Applegate’s oncologist, Dr. Philomena McAndrew — who talked about breast cancer, coping, survivorship and its aftermath.

Maimah Karmo opens up to Oprah

Oprah then interviewed Tigerlily’s founder about her work to help women 40 and under who are diagnosed with breast cancer. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

“Millions of women around the globe struggle with the day-to-day reality of living with breast cancer,” Oprah told the audience. “Maimah never believed she would be one of them. Since a young age, Maimah was taught to always do self-examinations—even though there was no history of the disease in her family. At age 32, she discovered her biggest fear, a lump.”

Maimah immediately scheduled an appointment with her doctor, who performed an aspiration, but it was unsuccessful. The doctor told her to come back in six months so they could try again. In that time, the lump doubled in size, so Maimah insisted that a biopsy be done.

While waiting for the results of the biopsy, Maimah continued to go about her daily life, anxiously awaiting the results. While on a conference call at work, Maimah could see her other line ringing. The number was from her doctor’s office. It was in that moment that she realized she had breast cancer.

“I just knew, intuitively,” Maimah says. When she was diagnosed, she immediately thought of the consequences. “I thought, ‘I can’t leave my daughter.’ I’d have given my left leg and arm to stay here with her. I can’t leave her without a mom,” Maimah says. “I was terrified.”

Today, two years after her diagnosis, Maimah is doing well but realizes now that her life before breast cancer wasn’t what it should have been. “I had this whole facade of being superwoman, always being perfect. Breast cancer strips you of that because you realize that’s not important,” Maimah says. “All that matters is what’s inside.”

“Sounds like a spiritual journey as well,” Oprah says. “For every woman I’ve ever talked to who has been through it, it’s a spiritual transformation that occurs.”

Founding a nonprofit to help women under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer

Karmo also talked to Oprah about the Tigerlily Foundation and its focus on educating, advocating for, empowering and supporting young women affected by breast cancer.

“I created this organization to educate women under 40 about the disease and how to best manage it,” Maimah told Oprah. “Not only do we provide chemotherapy buddy support, meetings for survivors, and financial assistance — we also offer beauty and pampering services and free mammograms to young women.

“To me, giving back in this way is part of the agreement I made with God when I asked him to save my life. I feel it is the only thing I can do — to reach out and help other young women who are battling breast cancer. I am blessed to be here, and will be forever grateful that I am able to watch my daughter grow into the beautiful woman I know she will be. I want the same for every woman, and I’m hoping the Tigerlily Foundation will be a resource for anyone who needs us.”

About the Tigerlily Foundation

According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is the leading cause of death in young women ages 15-54. More than 250,000 women age 40 and under in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lives, and more than 11,000 women will be diagnosed next year. Further, younger women often have more aggressive breast cancers and higher mortality rates.

Tigerlily Foundation’s mission is to educate, advocate for, empower and provide hands-on support to young women affected by breast cancer. The bulk of our funds go directly toward women in treatment who are struggling to pay their medical and household bills due the disruption that cancer has caused. We also provide meals and buddy support for women undergoing chemotherapy, connect survivors to those recently diagnosed and in the early stages of their treatment, and offer beauty and pampering services to women in treatment.

About Maimah Karmo

Author and activist Maimah Karmo is a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed at 33, when her daughter was only three years old. Determined to live to see her baby grow into a beautiful adult, Maimah harnessed her strength, relied on her mother for support, and made a promise to herself that if she lived that she’d do everything she could to help other young women with breast cancer. She founded the Tigerlily Foundation in 2006, and gave it its name because this beautiful flower represents beauty, strength and transformation. For more information, visit www.tigerlilyfoundation.org.

All media queries can be directed to Hope Katz Gibbs, director of communications: hope@inkandescentpr.com / 703 346-6975.

© 2009, Tigerlily Foundation