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Ashley Hornsby Welch comes home for Breast Cancer Awareness

Ashley Hornsby Welch poses with Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin in front of Breast Cancer Awareness car..

By Lightning Reports, Published: October 26, 2021

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch traveled to Henderson County this week to add her signature to those of other cancer survivors on a pink-wrapped squad car.

The pink car is part of Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin’s and his department’s efforts to bring attention to breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A Hendersonville native and graduate of East Henderson High School, Welch is the top prosecutor for the 43rd Prosecutorial District, made up of Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Clay, Cherokee, Graham and Swain counties.

“I applaud the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office for their efforts to raise awareness," Welch said. "I hope the pink patrol car helps to remind and encourage women to get mammograms. And, not just in Henderson County, but in every county.”

Welch announced last November that she was being treated for stage II breast cancer, and that doctors expected her to make a full recovery. “Going public with private information is tough,” she said then. “But, I believe that it is the right thing to do.”

Nearly 270,000 women and more than 2,000 men in the United States are diagnosed each year with the potentially deadly disease. Through a routine mammogram, Welch learned in 2020 that she, too, faced battling the disease.

Welch received treatment in Hendersonville through Pardee Cancer Center.

“I can’t speak highly enough about staff members’ kindness or the exceptional level of care I received,” she said.