In 2004, Mary Ann Wasil detected a lump on her breast. As a person performing regular breast self-exams, she she felt confident pushing forward with a biopsy after her radiologist dismissed her. The biopsy revealed she had breast cancer. While her cancer diagnosis was devastating, it was the catalyst for the creation of The Get In Touch Foundation®.

Mary Ann, a mother of three, felt it was essential to arm and equip her children with all the information they needed to be informed and strong, just like she was. She sat her two daughters down and taught them how to do breast self-exams at ages 12 and 13 and quickly realized everyone needed access to this vital information since it wasn’t taught in school. Over coffee and donuts with a friend, the idea of The Get In Touch Foundation and the Daisy Wheel™ was born.

Mary Ann worked closely with medical professionals, hosted focus groups with girls in grades 5-12, and reached out to local businesses in the community for support and funding for the educational tool that would teach breast self-exams.

With the official launch of the organization in 2008, Mary Ann kicked off almost immediately into a new profession; from being a former police officer, model, actress, and working for the Catholic Church, she was now a public speaker, breast health advocate, feminist, and Founder, CEO and President of The Get In Touch Foundation.

Mary Ann was fortunate enough to be cancer-free for six years. She poured her heart and soul into her family, expanded The Get In Touch Foundation, and traveled the world, always spreading her philosophy of choosing joy every day. In 2012, Mary Ann had a stage-four metastatic breast cancer recurrence, but her commitment to The Get In Touch Foundation and its mission never wavered. Sadly, in April of 2016, Mary Ann passed away. Her passion, legacy, and life-giving mission live on through her three children and, as she would say, her “fourth child,” The Get In Touch Foundation.