Caridad patient navigator

Aydeivis Jean Pierre is a patient navigator at Caridad Center. She has a specific role through the Promise Fund to help guide breast cancer patients through education, screening and treatment. She is also a translator for patients whose primary language isn’t English.

“I am responsible for doing the mammogram screening, doing the scanning and making the appointment for the women,” she said. “I help the patients with appointments because sometimes they have transportation issues. We also help schedule them with an oncologist and the surgery if needed.”

Jean Pierre believes in the mission of the Promise Fund because she sees patients at Caridad who desperately need the assistance.

“The fund is needed here because it helps low income people in Palm Beach County to qualify for screening and treatment for cancer,” she said. “Otherwise, many of these patients would never be able to afford or

even be aware of their cancer.”

Jean Pierre said that before the Promise Fund cancer diagnosis was often late. Because patients knew they didn’t have the money to take care of any serious problems, they would wait until late in the development of cancer when it might be too late for any real chance to cure it.

“Now, with the Promise Fund, a lot of patients can benefit,” she said. “Before, when a patient needed information and education, we would provide it. But we couldn’t do the treatments for mammograms or other treatments. Now, with the fund, they can actually get the procedures done that they need and it can be done right away.” “[My sister] wanted me to make sure every woman had access to the screening and care and treatment. So the Promise Fund is really fulfilling ... the promise I made to her.”

— Nancy Brinker, the founder of the globally recognized Susan G. Komen Foundation and co-founder of the Promise Fund of Florida