to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer , and thus more likely to die from the disease . For Ivory , comparing this work to a battle is n't overblown . `` The only thing that we have to fight this disease and lower the mortality rate is early detection , '' she says . `` We are the troops on the front lines . '' Since 2006 , Ivory has helped provide more than 500 mammograms to eligible women . Ivory herself had always been diligent about getting annual mammograms , but when the breast cancer diagnosis came in 2004 , she took it in stride . `` I just knew that it was for a higher purpose , '' she recalls . Ivory says that purpose became clear during her cancer treatment . Reflecting on how lucky she was to have health insurance and to have gotten annual mammograms , she realized that thousands of women without health care were likely falling through the cracks and putting themselves at risk . `` Those women do n't even have a fighting chance , '' she says . `` The mission became reach -LSB- ing -RSB- those women . ''
WEST PARK , Florida -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` We are an army , '' says Andrea Ivory of the group gathered with her early on a Saturday morning . Breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory is on a mission to educate Florida communities about the disease , one door at a time . Armed with clipboards , leaflets and high spirits , the energetic Ivory leads them into the neighborhood , where they start knocking on doors . The mood is lighthearted , but their mission is serious : to save lives , one house at a time . They 're volunteers from the Florida Breast Health Initiative , or FBHI , and they are waging war against breast cancer . It 's an effort started by Ivory , 50 , herself a survivor of the disease . Every weekend in the spring and fall , she and her volunteers -- who include college students , senior citizens and suburban moms , all wearing matching T-shirts -- fan out across low-income communities in southern Florida , educating women about breast health . They especially seek out uninsured women age 35 and older , who statistics show are twice as likely