Sarafina El-Badry Nance Encourages Self-Exams During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The Swim Search finalist uses her platform to inspire women to advocate for their health.

Sarafina El-Badry Nance was photographed by Yu Tsai in the Dominican Republic.Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes. Aside from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common skin cancer among women. For more information and ways to support, click here.

As a breast cancer previvor, Sarafina El-Badry Nance regularly uses her platform to encourage women to advocate for their health. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the 2022 Swim Search finalist took to TikTok earlier this week to issue an important reminder about advocating for one’s own health.

“When I was 23, my dad was diagnosed with metastatic or Stage 4 prostate cancer,” Nance told her followers. “He learned that he carries the BRCA2 gene mutation, and right after he tested positive, I did too.”

The genetic mutation increased Nance’s possibility of getting breast cancer throughout her life to 87%, so she opted to have a preventative double mastectomy at the age of 26, a procedure that then reduced her risk of breast cancer to less than 5%.

“I hope that in sharing my story, I can empower you to determine your own risk, get to know your body and advocate for yourself,” Nance stated. “Performing breast self-examinations every month is one way that you can do that.

In addition to routine self-exams, she also encouraged viewers to understand their family history. “It can be scary, but knowledge is power,” Nance said.

Read more about how Nance uses the power of storytelling to empower women to take charge of their well-beings here.

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