Ep 81: Finding Empowerment Through Adversity-Maimah's Triple Negative Breast Cancer Story-The Patient From Hell Podcast
Maimah Karmo opens up about her journey with triple-negative breast cancer and the inspiration behind founding the Tigerlily Foundation. She highlights the vital role of self-advocacy, education, and community in overcoming healthcare challenges. Maimah shares how doctors initially dismissed her concerns due to her age and ethnicity, an experience that fueled her mission to empower women of color facing similar barriers.
Key Highlights:
- Listen to your instincts—they could be lifesaving.
- Lean on your community—having support can help you push forward, even in moments of fear.
- Be your own strongest advocate—this is your body, your life, and you are worth fighting for.
About Our Guest:
Maimah Karmo is the Founder and CEO of the Tigerlily Foundation and an 18-year breast cancer survivor. On February 28, 2006, at 4:45 p.m., she was diagnosed with Stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer at just 32 years old—despite having no family history. In the midst of her second chemotherapy treatment, she made a promise that if she survived, she would build an organization dedicated to educating, empowering, and advocating for young women affected by breast cancer.
As a first-generation Liberian immigrant, Maimah has personally experienced disparities in healthcare, driving her passion for health equity. Through her leadership, Tigerlily Foundation has spearheaded national and global initiatives to combat healthcare inequities, including the #InclusionPledge, which unites global stakeholders in addressing disparities as a social justice issue. Her mission is clear: to eradicate racial and age-based healthcare disparities within this generation.
Beyond advocacy, Maimah works directly with patients and families, ensuring they have access to the best care and resources. She organizes impactful initiatives such as the Annual Young Women’s Breast Health Day on the Hill and leads philanthropic efforts that provide vital education and support to those navigating breast cancer. As a global health advocate and thought leader, Maimah remains committed to creating a more just and equitable future in healthcare.
You can find Maimah on Twitter, on Instagram, and on Facebook.
Check out the Tigerlily Foundation here.
Key Moments:
At 6 minutes 25 seconds “I ended up finding the flower one day, the tiger lily… It's like a woman, beautiful, different layers to her, and also when people are going through treatment there's a sense of so much fear. You do lose things in a way. You may lose your petals: your hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, breasts, other parts of your body, male or female. The flower is a perennial, so in the fall, winter, the petals fall off but in the spring and summer, they blossom again. I want people who are coming to Tigerlily to feel that sense of: I'm going through this time of dormancy and things are falling off, but that means I could grow and transform into something beautiful and amazing and just badass.You could find beauty, strength and be transformed throughout the cancer journey.”
At 11 minutes 7 seconds “So I did my breast exams every month as a habit. I shower, wash everything, check them, and then one day it wasn't the same.. And with the difference in knowing it was, it was a very, very subtle change when it was there, but I've been doing my exams for 18 years. I wanted other girls and their moms to have those kinds of conversations to talk about, as you're getting on the world, know how to carry yourself, how to feel confident in yourself, how to speak your mind, how to love your own company, how to love your body, how to honor that by eating healthy, getting rest, knowing your body inside and out and taking care of it and all the things.”
At 14 minutes 44 seconds “For anyone watching this, your intuition can save your life, so trust it. There are all the guidelines, the USPSTF guidelines, ACS guidelines, and NCCN guidelines. All those guidelines said that people like me who are younger and black shouldn't have cancer when in fact we get breast cancer the most often and have the highest mortality rates still. It's still increasing at this time 20 years later, so if I had followed the guidelines, they would have killed me. And who makes the guidelines? People who are very smart, who have big titles and accreditation at these big hospitals, but they were all wrong. Then those guidelines informed doctors who believed them because they say that you don't fit that profile. The guidelines were wrong.”
Disclaimer: All content and information provided in connection with Manta Cares is solely intended for informational and educational purposes only. This content and information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
This episode is sponsored by Gilead Oncology. Gilead had no involvement or input in the podcast content. Gilead Oncology is working to transform how cancer is treated. We are innovating with next-generation therapies, combinations, and technologies to deliver improved outcomes for people with cancer. From antibody drug conjugates and small molecules to cell therapy-based approaches, our portfolio and pipeline assets are creating new possibilities for people with cancer.
