February 5, 2010

Dear U-Turn Canada,

As one of Rethink Breast Cancer’s key supporters, you are part of something special – thank you! I am excited to update you on some of recent important funding decisions at Rethink that were enabled by your generosity and the tremendous success of last year’s U-Turn Canada's Project Pink Cause Marketing Campaign.

Through the generosity of supporters like U Turn, Rethink was able to get involved in several new, ground-breaking and much needed initiatives in 2009. These include:

• PYNK Breast Cancer Program for Young Women at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. This first of its kind program in Canada is designed to help young women with breast cancer navigate the medical system and direct them to psychological and social support. It also has a strong research component, aimed at determining why breast cancers in young women tend to be deadlier than in older women, and developing treatments to alter that outcome. The program has just completed a successful pilot phase; Rethink Breast Cancer has recently committed three years of funding to establish and run the program.

• Nanny Angel Network in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. This is another very innovative program. It provides relief in-home childcare through a network of professional volunteer nannies to women diagnosed and in treatment for breast cancer. There are currently no in-home, free child care services available to women with breast cancer, though the need for support is great. In addition to addressing this gap in support services, the program also provides breast health awareness and education to the nannies, who are primarily newcomers to Canada. The proportion of these women taking part in regular screening for breast cancer is also low, which means that if breast cancer occurs, they may be getting diagnosed late so their chances for survival are lower. The program aims to help breast cancer patients with children 12 years and under and empower and educate the nanny caregivers.

• Live Laugh Learn is a monthly gathering in Toronto and Calgary at lululemon athletic for young women living with and recovering from breast cancer. Live Laugh Learn is a one-of-a-kind and ongoing opportunity for young patients to connect with people they can relate to, while enjoying an evening of education on topics such as fertility, breast reconstruction, relationships, managing side-effects, diet and exercise as well as share lots of laughs and so much more. Rethink hopes to expand Live Laugh Learn to Vancouver and Montreal in the next year.

As you can imagine, we are really thrilled about the above program announcements. These are all new, exciting and most-importantly responsive and much-needed programs. We could not have done this without the generous support of partners like U Turn. Thank you!

In addition, thanks to U Turn, the projects and programs Rethink Breast Cancer is expanding this year include Show Your Breast Some TLC: Touch, Look, Check; our Support Saturdays program for young families dealing with breast cancer; and the Breast Fest Film Festival and Symposium. I look forward to keeping you informed on the growth and development of each of these projects and their impact later this year. I did also want you and your team to know that in addition to helping enable wonderful new projects and the expansion of several established programs as mentioned above, support from U Turn contributes towards our on-going mission fulfillment. You will be delighted to know that your support continues to make possible:

• Indispensable emotional and practical support for young women dealing with breast cancer: Every year, there are 4,000 women under age 40 diagnosed with breast cancer. They face unique issues including isolation, dating/sexuality, fertility, child care, financial assistance, employment and age-appropriate peer support such as social networking, both off and online.

• Innovative education and awareness programs that reach out to all young women with positive, empowering breast health messages about prevention and early detection of breast cancer.

• Groundbreaking research to improve breast cancer treatment outcomes for people worldwide.

• Outstanding training to some of Canada’s brightest young researchers pursuing careers in the breast cancer field.

• Transforming Rethink Breast Cancer into a leading organization and community for young people concerned about and affected by breast cancer.

Rethink Breast Cancer could not do this work without dedicated supporters like U Turn!

Thank you again for giving so much to Rethink Breast Cancer. Thank you for helping us to think differently about how to beat breast cancer.

Sincerely,

MJ DeCoteau
Executive Director, Rethink Breast Cancer