BRA Lifts Up a Community of Breast Cancer Survivors

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, BRA founders Nancy Brown, Namaste Anderson and Jenadi Talbot launched a nonprofit to support breast cancer survivors through a community of strength, resilience and joy. With combined decades of healthcare experience, the founders established Breast Cancer Recovery in Action. They shortened the name to BRA — yes, like the lingerie — and deliberately omitted the “C,” because cancer doesn’t define this group.

What instead defines BRA is a commitment to mentoring women through the challenges of breast cancer recovery. In other words, BRA is here to lift you up. The play on words, woven throughout BRA’s messaging, hints at the optimism and generosity of a community bound by an intimate challenge.  

Supporting Survivors

For executive director Nancy Brown, the challenge began 25 years ago, when the mother of two was diagnosed with breast cancer. “When you go through trauma, you want it to have some meaning — you want to give back,” Nancy says. “For most of us, it’s important to reach behind and pull up the other people who are coming.”

After the ordeal of diagnosis and treatment, Nancy didn’t want to return to her corporate job. Instead, she began a career supporting cancer research and survivors, first through the Susan G. Komen Foundation and later through a local program that shut down during the pandemic. 

Yet when that survivor support program closed and Nancy was out of a job, her cell phone kept ringing. Even in a pandemic — especially in a pandemic — so many people still needed help understanding the complex jargon and decisions associated with cancer diagnoses. That’s when Nancy and former colleagues Namaste and Jenadi decided they could continue serving survivors on their own.

They started small, with walking groups in parks and greenways, bringing survivors together to get some exercise and share their stories. Five years later, BRA has helped nearly 300 cancer survivors navigate their diagnoses through support groups in Middle and East Tennessee and Florida.

Community Coursework

Fueled by the belief that exercise and a caring community can improve health outcomes and quality of life, BRA engages participants in four core pillars: exercise, nutrition, emotional health and education. A typical BRA curriculum might include regular small workout groups with individualized personal training, along with six-week virtual nutrition classes and eight-week on-site emotional wellness courses.

Along the way, BRA provides education and research updates through “BRA Banter,” virtual events on the organization’s website and social media. These programs have included a conversation between physicians about how chemotherapy impacts heart health, a dentist's presentation on how cancer treatment affects teeth, and updates from the chair of oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Medical experts, including VUMC advisory board members, guide BRA in developing curricula.

In Middle Tennessee, BRA currently meets at eight locations, including the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville, TruFit Athletic Clubs in Donelson, Body Fit Training in Brentwood and Berry Farms in Franklin.

Surrounded with Love

Nancy says the best way for someone to engage with BRA is to fill out an interest form on the organization’s website (bragroups.org), which will prompt a call back. From there, a survivor will be matched with groups for in-person exercise and emotional wellness sessions, along with virtual nutrition training.

Nancy recommends participants engage in all four pillars, which are meant to reinforce each other. But no one should let the physical aspects hold them back from getting involved. BRA knows that treatment can leave a survivor so exhausted that even the slightest exercise feels like too much. On those days, Nancy hopes people will come walk on a treadmill or just sit on a bench.

“You’ll feel better if you get out of your house, get into community and do something for yourself,” says Nancy, who has helped mentor as many as 1,500 women through such challenging days. “We will surround you and love on you.”