Grande Prairie-based tech startup founder and lifelong entrepreneur Tracy Persson was recognized with the ASTech Award in Regional and Rural Innovation during the 2024 ASTech Awards on November 1st.
Her award comes as a result of her work on an innovative phone application that helps women better monitor their breast health.
Persson’s app “My Breast Day” features a variety of tools for women to use before, during, and after treatment such as self-breast exam lessons, general information regarding breast cancer, a built-in financial tracker, and a journaling function for patients to track their journey. The app also emphasizes early detection, which Persson says is key to survivability.
“Grande Prairie has a very large breast cancer support group online so I asked them a lot of questions, people were using calendars, and their notes on their phones so I went down to Community Futures and told them I had an idea to help fill some gaps with early detection and scheduling your treatment plan,” she says. “Early detection really is key to being able to survive, if you catch it early I think there’s an 80 per cent chance of surviving.”
Persson represented Grande Prairie in the Indigenous-led Entrepreneurship and Contribution to Knowledge category, competing against three other industry leaders in the same category.
