By DEVONTE DEMBY

NATCHEZ — If not for Joyce Washington Ivery’s fight with breast cancer, many others would not be here to celebrate life today.

Ivery was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989. But after surviving five years following receiving that tragic news, she knew she was home free.

“I had a radical mastectomy,” Ivery said. After going through that procedure, Ivery said she wanted to find a way to support women who were going through a cancer battle of their own.

That desire to help was the birth of the Edna B. and Joyce Fay Washington Breast Cancer Foundation.

Although Ivery’s mother, Edna Washington, has never been diagnosed with breast cancer, she aided her daughter in founding the organization.

“She was so supportive to me during the time I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” Ivery said.

Founded in 1993 in Ivery’s hometown of New Orleans, the Foundation became a component fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation in 1996.

Hurricane Katrina forced Ivery from her home New Orleans and she became a reluctant Natchez resident. However, she soon came to view the move here as a “divine intervention.”

“It has truly been a blessing for me,” Ivery said.

After moving to Natchez, Ivery began another group, Journey to Save a Life, which to date has led to 51 Miss-Lou women receiving mammograms.

Journey to Save A Life is the newest program within Ivery’s foundation. Because of this group, women in the Miss-Lou who do not have insurance are able to receive a mammogram free of charge.

This program has been sponsored by Natchez Regional Medical Center.

“We have a plan with NRMC where they give us a discount and any woman who needs a mammogram is able to get one through the foundation,” Ivery said.

Kay Ketchings of NRMC has worked closely with Ivery and the Journey to Save a Life program.

Because Ivery’s breast cancer was discovered early, she did not have to take chemotherapy or radiation.

“It was considered stage one,” she said. “I had a lumpectomy first and then the doctor recommended I get a mastectomy because of the location of the lump.”

Her experience pushed Ivery to go out and empower other women through her support group within the foundation, Sisters In Touch.

“One of the things that my support group does is that we want to empower women,” Ivery said. “This is your body, and if you don’t know it, you need to get to know it.”Funding for programs is derived from individual contributions, grant and Hats and Gloves With Tea On the Mississippi, the foundation’s annual fundraiser in Natchez. The event, which is annual, was last weekend at the Natchez Grand Hotel.

At 71 years old, Ivery said she still has a lot of volunteer service left in her. She is a volunteer with United Way and a Pink Lady at Natchez Regional. Because of her work with Ketchings and the NRMC, Journey To Save A Life was made possible.

“I don’t take credit for good things,” Ivery said. “That is my faith in God.”