Entrepreneur and cancer survivor Elise Smith needs you to help save her life by registering for Be The Match®. Smith, a baker, recipe developer, food writer and the owner of WinniE’s Bakery in Columbia, Maryland, has a joyful and optimistic outlook on life. She’s also a cancer survivor who recently was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and is fighting for her life for a second time.
At 19, Smith was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After undergoing two surgeries, radiation and 18 months of treatments, hospital visits and medical maintenance, she received the best news ever: she was cured. By the time she turned 20, she was blessed with a renewed lease on life, and by age 22, she officially became an entrepreneur and the small business owner of WinniE’s Bakery, named after her maternal grandmother, Winifred. Life was amazing for Smith.
Since becoming an entrepreneur, Smith, 31, has contributed to food publications, made several TV appearances, started writing a cookbook, worked at local organizations such as Black Girls Cook in Baltimore, Maryland, and even become a chef ambassador for the No Kid Hungry campaign for the nonprofit Share Our Strength. However, circumstances recently took an unexpected turn.
About a year ago, Smith’s health started to decline, and she discovered that the treatment she received for her thyroid cancer during her 20s was slowly killing her in her 30s.
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