Breast Cancer Recovery is pleased to announce our 2021 Ann Haney Award recipient:
Nikki Panico!

This award is inspired by our founder, Ann Haney. Nominations told stories of women's breast cancer journey that has been an inspiration to others around her, and whose light has shined brighter. The nomination committee was so inspired by the journey of all our 2021 nominees, and all they do to support women with breast cancer in your community.

The award will be presented at our Party on the Pier: Kayak-A-Thon on Wednesday, July 21 at Marshall Park in Middleton, WI

Nikki was nominated by Robin Luther.

How Nikki's journey has been an inspiration to others

Nikki shares her personal journey. Whether she is sharing her own story or the story of her mom or aunt, she believes her words can make a difference. In deep reflection, Nikki feels that breast cancer did not take her life so that she could continue to be the voice of those who gained their wings in the battle against breast cancer. Nikki is a fierce advocate. Nikki's mission is to empower women who develop breast cancer, to teach them what questions to ask and how to understand the answers. Below are two examples where Nikki has used her platform to help breast cancer patients. Nikki's blog post from 2016, Dating After a Mastectomy, focuses on body image and sexuality after a breast cancer diagnosis. It was shared over 100 times. Oprah magazine even called for an interview with Nikki. Countless breast cancer survivors have reached out to Nikki thanking her for addressing a topic not often talked about.  Nikki was fortunate enough to have health insurance and financial resources through her diagnosis, but she knows many women do not. Policy and laws must change so that everyone regardless of age, socioeconomic status, race, etc. get quality care, to stay in treatment, and to have access to accurate information. Nikki believes that where a person lives and what a person looks like should not determine whether they live.

To that point, here is an Op Ed that Nikki wrote that can be found in the CapTimes here. 

Nikki's contributions to her community.

Nikki Panico has a heartfelt commitment to making a real impact in the fight against breast cancer. She lives and breathes this mission on both a personal and professional level. Her tenacity and drive have been tested over the years, but consistently win out over any obstacles put in her way. She is a kind and sensitive soul with the focused perseverance of a lioness! Nikki has worked diligently to arrive at a beautiful balance between strong individual effort & leadership and essential collaborative team work with other local individuals and organizations - both necessary elements that have empowered her to initiate positive change and foster meaningful progress in the delivery of optimal breast cancer services, treatments, and health outcomes for our community. I am consistently impressed and inspired by Nikki's unending passion and drive... She openly shares her stories and experiences to raise awareness and advocate for best quality breast health services across our state. She consistently prioritizes health equity and works to create systems that eliminate barriers to essential screenings and optimal health outcomes for everyone. She is dedicated to finding ways to fund the research that will find new treatments and cures for the most aggressive breast cancers. She truly lives to compassionately serve and support those going through their own breast cancer journey. It is my honor to nominate Nikki Panico, a true breast cancer champion, for the 2021 Ann Haney Award.

Nikki's support other women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Nikki is no stranger to breast cancer. She lost her mother and aunt within a month of each other to the disease in 2008, only to be diagnosed herself at 39 years old in 2009. Inspired by her family's experiences, Nikki began seeking opportunities to help others battling breast cancer. Nikki participated and volunteered for numerous Komen Race for the Cure events and 60 mile, 3-day walks, raising more than $30,000 for breast cancer research and support programs in just a couple years. In 2012, Nikki knew she needed to have a greater impact on the disease. So, she took her nonprofit and management skills to work for Susan G. Komen. Nikki's steadfast perseverance to keep the mission of Susan G. Komen present in the state of Wisconsin has been inspiring to professionals in the field and survivors. In 2017, Nikki guided the merger of three Komen Affiliate's in Wisconsin to one larger entity. If Nikki and her Board did not voluntarily take on the leadership of this initiative, countless women across most of Wisconsin would not receive financial assistance for screening and diagnostic tests or when diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2020, in response to COVID-19 and the significant decrease in revenue due to no large events, Komen made a huge decision to centralize all operations, integrating its 65 affiliates into a single national organization. Nikki led the consolidation in Wisconsin and was a pioneer in defining the new evolution of Komen as it stays in local communities.

More About Nikki

Nikki is a transformative visionary. She sees opportunity and capitalizes with creativity and a can-do spirit. Three specific examples of her contributions to breast cancer support and awareness include: Komen Wisconsin Breast Cancer Assistance Fund, providing financial support for individuals battling breast cancer and those in need of life-saving screening and diagnostic testing. This program grew from serving individuals in 8 counties with a $200K budget to serving individuals living in 36 counties with a budget of $600K+. Initially the Komen parent organization condemned this type of direct service by an Affiliate. Seven years later, Komen headquarters saw the value and created its own Treatment Assistance Fund. Conversations with Komen presented by Kohl's was a corporately funded, peer led breast health education program that leads to screening deployed in zip codes where African American and Latina women are dying at a high rate. Under Nikki's oversight the program has educated more than 35,000 women in southeastern Wisconsin, encouraging them to receive regular breast health screenings. Over 60% of those women received lifesaving screening and diagnostic testing because of this program. Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference brought the best and brightest researchers and clinicians to Wisconsin. The first conference broke even and had 60 attendees. Six years later the conferences net revenue is $70,000, has 200 face to face attendees with hundreds of others watching remotely via live stream. All three of these programs were first with the Komen family and have influenced replications across the Affiliate network.