Rethink Year in Review 2018
We’re taking a moment to reflect on some of the work the Rethink team and community accomplished this year.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Advisory Board
We kicked off 2018 with the creation of our Metastatic Breast Cancer Advisory Board, which brings together the lived experience and knowledge of women living with MBC, those living with early stage breast cancer, and caregivers. The MBC Advisory Board continues to provide patient-focused insights to help identify and inform Rethink’s education, advocacy and support initiatives to address to unique needs of MBC patients.
World Cancer Day
On February 4, Rethink participated in World Cancer Day, a worldwide initiative to eradicate cancer, alongside 139 other countries. This year, Rethink activated in Square One Mall with our #8008135 chat bot to help bust breast cancer myths for young people. We also partnered with Peace Collective to offer an exclusive milkshake that gave back to the cause for the entire month of February.
Boobyball Mini
At this year’s Boobyball Mini, Rethinkers big and small visited Old MacDonald’s farm. While parents enjoyed cocktails and bites, kids explored the barnyard complete with farm animals, crafts, dancing, photobooths and more. Plus, Rethink supporters Cat and Nat (the hilarious duo behind the viral #MomTruths videos) treated VIP guests to an exclusive Q&A. Click here for photos from the event.
Stretch Heal Grow
For the first time ever, Rethink hosted two Stretch Heal Grow retreats for young women with breast cancer. That means that twice as many (over fifty!) women had the chance to focus on healing their minds and souls, as well as find community and support with other young women who just “get it.” Click here and here for photos from the retreats.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
This October, we were #RethinkingPink working alongside 15 partners to bring opportunities to support the cause – from apparel and accessories, to tea and tools, to homewares and cosmetics.
World Cancer Congress
Members of the Rethink team traveled to Kuala Lumpur for the World Cancer Congress alongside 3,500+ delegates from over 150 countries. In four panel presentations, we shared aspects of our work including our patient advocacy program, our Give-A-Care line of products for young women with breast cancer, innovative fundraising, and our 8008135 campaign.
Boobyball Wild West
The 17th annual Boobyball brought over 3,500 party patrons to the Wild West at events in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver. We kicked-off in Toronto with our second Facebook Live featuring women from our network, notable oncologists, supporters, and more. Boobyball events have now raised over $5 million to date in support of Rethink’s advocacy, education and support initiatives for young women facing breast cancer. Check out the highlight video here.
Advocacy
We celebrated an advocacy win following our #MBCintheDark campaign: the voices of over 10,000 supporters who signed our petition was heard and the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance announced a set of crucial benchmarks to improve transparency and timelines when negotiating the price of cancer medications. Rethink supporters have pledged to hold these decision-makers accountable to their promises, and came together at Queen’s Park to have their voices heard. Additionally, our #BitterestPill campaign increased awareness for the unequal funding of cancer medications and the critical impact this has for patients who are increasingly prescribed this type of medication. Nearly 2,000 supporters signed our petition to call for equal funding of all cancer treatments.
Lost in Translation Forum
We brought together patients, oncologists and healthcare professionals at our forum Lost in Translation: Addressing Gaps in Communication between Cancer Patients and Health-Care Providers. The panel discussed current challenges and helpful strategies to improve the communication relationship between patients and their broader health-care team. Get our takeaways on the blog here or watch the full recording on our Facebook page.
Breast Cancer Content
All throughout the year, the Rethink team works to bring our community digital resources to help them better navigate their experience with cancer, as well as stories of inspiration and support. This includes nearly 200 original blogs and 20+ videos, including a new vlog series First Baby, then Breast Cancer.
Pay-It-Forward Holiday Campaign
This year, several women from our network came together to pay-it-forward to other young women with breast cancer, and we asked our broader community to join in by donating $25 to send a Give-A-Care package to someone facing the holidays with cancer. During our Give-A-Thon on Giving Tuesday, we surpassed our initial goal of sending 150 Give-A-Care packages, and finished the day raising enough money to send over 200 packages! Our efforts continue until the very end 2018, with a goal of sending 450 packages. Click here to give now.
