Pearl Carter is a well-known cancer advocate from Vicksburg.

On Tuesday, Carter joined hundreds of fellow cancer survivors and their families going door to door on Capitol Hill to seek policy initiatives that would increase access to testing. This September, communities will honor people affected by cancer when Lights of Hope Across America takes place on the front porches, kitchen tables and lawns of cancer patients, survivors and advocates such as Carter.

Carter will represent Vicksburg and Mississippi in the national event and invites the community to join her for a local Lights of Hope ceremony.

Carter is a two-time breast cancer survivor and has remained cancer-free for the last nine years. The people she met along the journey prompted her to become an ACS-CAN volunteer to assist, support and advocate for others who are experiencing cancer, she said.

Fundraising for Lights of Hope helps the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN) to continue advocating for everyone affected by cancer, including the estimated 18,000 Mississippians who will receive a cancer diagnosis this year.

“I think God allowed me to have cancer in order to prepare me for the volunteer work I do for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN),” Carter said. “The improvements in care that I have witnessed are the direct result of the policy work which brought about better treatments and medications.”

For details on how to dedicate a Lights of Hope bag, please visit Carter’s Lights of Hope page.