Washington D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) spoke on the House Floor to honor three-time cancer survivor Yolanda Jackson. On Friday, July 24, the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will honor Ms. Jackson with their Iron Strong Survivor Award for overcoming her courageous battle with cancer.

Watch it on YouTube here.

Rep. Sewell: Mister Speaker, I rise today to honor a dear friend, an extraordinary woman of faith, and a living testament to courage and resilience—Ms. Yolanda Jackson.

This week, the O'Neal Comprehensive Center for Cancer at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will present Yolanda with its Iron Strong Award for her courageous battle with breast cancer. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this recognition.

I have known Yolanda for more than twenty years. We became fast friends as neighbors in 2005 after we moved into the same apartment complex in Birmingham, Alabama. But our connection actually began years earlier. While working as a human resources consultant for the City of Selma in the early nineties, Yolanda became known to my mother, Nancy Gardner Sewell—Selma’s first Black City Councilwoman—and she adored Yolanda. It was a wonderful reminder of how small and how special our Alabama family can be.

Over the past two decades, we've celebrated life's blessings together, and we've stood beside one another through some of life's toughest moments. Yolanda has been there for me, just as I try to be there for her, and I am extraordinarily grateful for her friendship. My life is richer because she is in it. 

Not long ago, after moving to Birmingham in 2005, Yolanda was diagnosed with breast cancer. She would go on to face two more cancer diagnoses, in 2022 and again in 2024.

Three cancer diagnoses. Three difficult battles. Three remarkable victories.

Throughout every step of that journey, Yolanda received exceptional care from the physicians, nurses, and staff at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. Her final testimony was in October 2025. Her treatment was a success, and today I am grateful to say that she remains in remission.

When you ask Yolanda where she finds her strength, her answer is simple: her faith.

She believes that even at our hardest moments, God is at work. That through suffering, He walks beside us, gives us strength to endure, and uses our trials to shape our character, deepen our faith, and make us into the people He wants us to be.

Yolanda has lived that belief every day of her life.

She encourages everyone facing cancer to hold on to hope, to stay positive, never stop fighting. She believes we all need someone to love and something to look forward to and something to live for.

For Yolanda, that purpose shines brightest through her beautiful family. In 2019, she welcomed and adopted two precious twin boys, Ayden and Jayden, into her life. And last year, she opened her heart again by adopting their younger brother, Kyrie. Those three boys are truly blessed to have such a loving, faithful, and determined mom.

Today, we celebrate Yolanda. We also celebrate the extraordinary work of the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. Their groundbreaking research, innovative treatments, and compassionate care have transformed countless lives, and Yolanda's story is a powerful testament to their mission.

Today, we celebrate an Iron Strong survivor, my dear friend, Yolanda Jackson. More than that, we celebrate an Iron Strong woman—a faithful servant, a devoted mother, loyal friend, and an inspiration to everyone blessed enough to know her.

Congratulations, Yolanda, on this well-deserved honor. Your courage, your faith, and your unwavering hope inspire everyone who has been privileged to know you.

I ask my colleagues of the United States House of Representatives to join me in congratulating Ms. Yolanda Jackson and wishing her beautiful family many years of continued health, happiness, and God's abundant blessings.

Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time. We love you, Yolanda.

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