Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Chicago Nonprofit Equal Hope Enhances Access to Vital Screenings

CHICAGO (WLS) — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. a Chicago nonprofit is making sure access to lifesaving screenings is not limited by income or zip code.

Equal Hope is working to close the city’s breast cancer mortality gap.

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Among those who have faced the battle against breast cancer is Tracy Kincaid, a talented singer and actress who has also survived the disease. “The first diagnosis was invasive ductile carcinoma in 2009,” Kincaid recounted. “Then, in 2023, I faced a different type of cancer entirely. By 2025, I was fighting metastatic stage 4 breast cancer.”

“The first one was invasive ductile carcinoma in 2009,” Kincaid said. “Then I was diagnosed with a totally different cancer in 2023. 2025, I was diagnosed with metastatic stage 4 breast cancer.”

According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetimes. Those chances increase if you have less access to resources.

“Do they have transportation? Do they have the ability to take off work? Do they have the ability to have childcare? Do they even have housing? These things are the things that go first before a person can even consider healthcare,” Equal Hope CEO Dr. Paris Thomas said.

That’s where non-profit organizations like Chicago’s Equal Hope come in.

“Equal Hope, in so many ways, has saved my life,” Kincaid said.

Equal Hope says it strives to break down barriers that keep underinsured and uninsured women and men from getting the care they need.

“And that’s one of the biggest problems in many communities. They don’t know the resources. They don’t know how to actually access the resources,” patient care navigator Oreletta Garmon said.

Equal Hope says it helps provide food, transportation, appointment scheduling and rent assistance to those in need.

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“If there is help, I’m gonna ask for it,” Kincaid said. “Pride is not our friend.”

Equal Hopes says the level of care it provides is in jeopardy due to major federal funding cuts. In January, President Donald Trump issued executive orders to end what he called “radical and wasteful” DEI programs.

“A lot of our efforts focus on Black and Brown communities and obviously today we can’t speak about things such as DEI in some of our language,” Dr. Thomas said.

Equal Hope’s CEO says if the funding deficit continues some services may have to go.

“Although, it’s getting harder to get funding the need from people is increasing,” Dr. Thomas said.

For now, the lack of funding isn’t stopping the mission, and Equal Hope is still pushing Chicagoans to seek care if they suspect something is wrong.

Tracy Kincaid | Breast Cancer Patient 00:13:08 I

“I believe that had I gone and gotten my breast examined when I was supposed to at the age of 40. I was 44 went I went,” Kincaid said. “If I had gone at the age of 40, it’s possible that I would not be a metastatic breast cancer survivor today.”

“Ask for help. That’s not a weakness, that’s a strength,” Garmon said.

Equal Hope is hosting a fundraiser Saturday called the Pink Plate Tour.

The non-profit is raising funds in partnership with restaurants that will donate ten percent of proceeds to the organization.

A full list of participating restaurants and more information on the Pink Plate Tour can be found at EqualHope.org