Woodrow's Story

To Woodrow, there is no greater joy in the world than giving back to the community and making a difference.  That’s why when Moffitt Cancer Center’s Dr. Green reached out about a new initiative Woodrow simply said, “Just sign me up.”

That initiative was the George Edgecomb Society.

“The George Edgecomb Society is a society that, in my view of it, educates the community and those in the surrounding areas about the disparities in cancer, the socioeconomic factors that are within the African-American community,” explains Woodrow.

The society’s mission hit very close to home for Woodrow, who lost his father in 2009. “If I knew then what I know now, maybe we could have done something sooner to help educate ourselves but also save his life, to extend it.”

Given him more time.

While there has been much progress in cancer treatment, screening, diagnosis and prevention, it has been slower for the black/African American community. 

This has not been lost on Woodrow. To him, the key to giving others more time with their loved ones is education.

“I'm an African American, so yes those who look like me, walk like me, talk like me, I have a direct relationship with and if I can help them, educate them and improve their quality of life, that's my job and my challenge, to do so.”

By providing education, raising awareness and supporting research, Woodrow and the George Edgecomb Society strive to eliminate cancer health disparities and hopefully give something back.

Time.

“At the end of the day, no matter what we do, we all talk about the time we have. Be it with our kids, be it with our spouses, and be it with our friends,” says Woodrow.  And time is “the thing that we value most.”