LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tiffany Brandon-Stoner is finishing the preparations of Inge’s House, a center designed to give single women fighting breast cancer a comfortable place to heal.
The house honors Inge Debro, who lost her battle to cancer in 2015.
“When she entered, you knew her presence followed with her, just had a beautiful smile, radiant smile, just a giver, just loved life. She was true to herself,” said Brandon-Stoner, the Executive Director of Inge’s House.
Brandon-Stoner and Debro were first cousins and had a close relationship.
After Debro passed away, Brandon-Stoner knew she wanted to honor her cousin’s legacy. She had the vision to create a space where women battling cancer could fight the disease more comfortably and without barriers.
“Just continuing her legacy, just knowing that somebody cares, that someone in the community understand what you’re going through, understand the lack of resources, understand that financial strain that is on a single woman, understanding that ‘Hey, I don’t have the energy to get up and fix me a meal,’ you know to be cared for,” Brandon-Stoner says.
The old Victorian mansion in Louisville has five color-themed bedrooms and an open kitchen — elements which matched her vision of the house.
The house has not opened yet but plans to open in the spring of 2024 if enough money is raised. It will provide shelter, case management, nutritional meals, medical transportation, education, fellowship and advocacy.
“I think with her battle with cancer, it just really pushed her into her purpose because she took it and ran with it, educating people about early detection.”
Over 4,000 Kentucky women were diagnosed with breast cancer this year according to the American Cancer Society.
Routine screenings can help detect breast cancer in its early stages.
Family Health Centers in Kentucky provide free screenings and mammograms for eligible women. That includes those without health insurance.
Melissa Mather with Family Health Centers says the process is easy and can be life-saving.
“Overall, pretty quick, painless, you know, I think there is kind of a fear around that and you know I think that has more to do with you know ‘what if they find something’ and I think, you know, knowing is a lot better than not knowing because breast cancer is very, very treatable when it’s caught early on right and mammograms are the best way to do that,” Mather says.
Brandon-Stoner says for women who have been detected it’s important to reduce outside stressors.
“If you’re trying to figure out how you’re going to get a ride, transportation, how you paying your rent, how you’re paying your light bill, if you have all these burdens, and all this stress and all this anxiety, your body can not heal,” Brandon-Stoner says.
Inge’s House is presenting a Victory Gala on Nov. 4.
