Unicorn with purpose

Evolution of Unicorn logo from concept art to final.

Unicorn Cancer Thrivers Foundation.  Unicorn.  Pretty bold to be using something so iconic for the name of a charity, right?

So what does a unicorn stand for?  Hope.  Light.  Purity.  Confidence.  Sparkle.  Magic.  Healing.  Uniqueness.  Badass.  100X extreme.

Those aren't just inspiring traits, they are a foundation for both a mindset and a lifestyle.

A mindset for reframing a world turned upside down into a thriving one of balanced optimism, limitless possibility, agency, clarity, and hidden joys.  A lifestyle powered by scars, but celebrates living with sparkle in the eyes, drawn from the authentic self and not from comparisons.

These form the philosophy of what it takes to be a Unicorn Thriver.

Metastatic breast cancer patients and caregivers are at the bottom of the cancer devastation spectrum, having to face a reality of no cure, low survivorship, and intense lifetime treatments and side effects.  This is on top of all the psychosocial struggles of any cancer diagnosis - body, mind, spirit, relationships, career, financial - just 100X more potent given the late stage cancer.  They are most at risk and the least supported (lost cause), yet they all have fires that can be rekindled to live a life of quality.  In other words, those affected by metastatic breast cancer have it in them to turn trauma into thriving to become Unicorn 🦄 Thrivers.

So yeah, Unicorn IS our thing.

Janice Choe was a scarred Unicorn Thriver.  Diagnosed with stage IV metastatic Inflammatory Breast Cancer at a crazy young age of 33, she defied all odds to live a thriving life of meaning and joy for 10.5 years.  She was also my best friend, kindred spirit, and wife, having been together for 25 years since right after high school.  Janice inspired everyone around her and even bewildered her doctors as she thrived each year.  The truth though, was that behind that golden mask was a scarred unicorn who persevered through intense darkness and valleys.  You hear about extraordinary responders or radical remissions.  That wasn’t Janice.  But what she did do was work insanely hard at changing her prognosis like a sword forged through fire.  The result was a mindset, life philosophy, and mantras that helped her and can serve anyone affected by this terrible disease.  You don’t need to be a superhuman.  I’ll say it again - you don’t need to be superhuman.  She wanted to share these with the world, along with improvements in overall patient experience, in hopes to make life a little easier for one metastatic breast cancer person at a time. 

Janice’s philosophy is the Unicorn Thriver philosophy.  We started the Unicorn Cancer Thrivers Foundation to take this forward.  We are here to redefine what Unicorn means in the context of cancer, and empower metastatic breast cancer patients into Unicorn Thrivers.

Yes, we're just getting started.  We’re scrappy.  We are learning.  But we can promise a few things.  We will always do the right thing.  We will be fiscally responsible.  We will and are running a 100% model where all donations will go towards our mission; we take no salaries.  We will take feedback and improve.  We will never forget why we wake up every morning, and that is to help MBC thrivers.  And we will work towards changing the paradigm of what it means to live with metastatic breast cancer. 

Today begins October Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Are you ready to go Unicorn mode?  🦄  💪🏻