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Willis received the 2018 “Surviving with Impact” award.
This past September, Fox News/Fox Business sponsored “Team Gerri’ in the Susan G. Komen NYC Race for the Cure where she raised over $21,000, ranking in the top 10 donors.
Willis was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in April 2016 and had to start treatment immediately.
After a few months medical leave, Willis decided to go back to work while continuing treatment. As a personal finance reporter, Willis’ job was to help consumers manage and make the best decisions with their money, and she was determined to continue doing so.
Willis did daily on-air reports while facing the dreadful side effects of chemo (nausea, puffiness, hair loss) – something that so many women battling the disease know well and can relate to – having to work through treatment.
Except Willis did it with millions of people watching her every move.
Willis also decided it was time to embrace her reality and decided to ditch her wig and open up publicly about her battle on-air on FBN’s Kennedy in an effort to bring awareness to the disease and show there’s no shame in the struggle, by showcasing her new pixie haircut.
Willis has made it her mission to speak out about her diagnosis to urge women to be vigilant in screening for breast cancer. Now in remission, Willis has been determined to not only spread awareness, but to tear down the stigma of being sick and help women regain their power, beauty and confidence back when battling cancer.
Wednesday's awards event raised more than $500,000 for the Komen cause.
Here is an excerpt from Willis' speech: “To my Fox family, the secret about FOX News that no gossip column has ever told you? The company is unbelievably supportive of women fighting breast cancer. When I was on sick leave and management called – the question was not when are you coming back to work, but what can we do to help you.”
Willis aired a segment about the event Thursday on FOX Business, which can be viewed by clicking here:
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