MJ DeCoteau founded Rethink Breast Cancer in 2001 after losing her mother to the disease at 22 and realizing there was almost nothing out there designed for someone her age. The pamphlets, the awareness campaigns, the support networks — all of it was aimed at an older generation, leaving younger women largely invisible in the breast cancer conversation. Twenty-five years later, Rethink has grown into a global community of more than 80,000, built on the belief that younger women deserve education, support, and advocacy that actually reflects their lives, from fertility and career disruption to mental health, relationships, and survivorship.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Rethink Breast Cancer is a registered Canadian charity based in Toronto with a global reach, dedicated to educating, supporting and advocating for younger women affected by breast cancer and those taking charge of their breast health. For over 25 years, Rethink has met the unique needs of younger women through tailored resources, educational and support programs and advocacy informed by our community’s experiences. As a bold, digital-first organization, Rethink collaborates with young women, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers and diverse partners to drive meaningful change in breast cancer care. We’re all about creating spaces to support, listen, heal and rethink breast cancer together.
What problem does it aim to solve?
In 2001, breast cancer was largely still viewed as an issue affecting older women. The needs of younger women were not reflected in education, support or advocacy, leaving many young women in the dark about breast health and breast cancer. Then and even still now, younger women are often told, “You’re too young.” For 25 years, we’ve been changing the conversation around breast cancer and younger women. We recognized that their unique needs at this life stage — isolation from peers, fertility loss, childcare, dating, career gaps, premature menopause, sexual and mental health, and facing mortality at a young age — weren’t being addressed. And so, we got busy addressing isolation by building community and working to close these gaps in care by developing education, support and advocacy programs specifically for them.
When did you start/join it?
I gathered a group of creative, passionate people in early 2001 to form the Board of Directors for a new breed of breast cancer charity, one determined to change the face of breast cancer to include younger people. That year we moved fast. With our Board pitching in, and mostly our family and friends as volunteers, we hosted our first public-facing event on June 14, 2001, at a cool little spot called SpaHa at Spadina and Harbord in Toronto. Later that year, while I was still working off my dining room table as the sole employee, we brought a global cause marketing campaign to Canada, which was featured on the cover of FASHION Magazine and the windows of Holt Renfrew stores across Canada.
What made you want to get involved?
Losing my mom to breast cancer at a young age, feeling that impulse to “do something,” and seeing a gap in the breast cancer space — all inspired me to start Rethink.
My mom passed away from breast cancer when I was 22, and when I looked for information about my own risk, I found very little that felt relevant, accessible or designed for someone my age. This was back in the 1990s, and the pamphlets and awareness pins and apparel were all geared towards my grandmother’s age group. That was my first “ah ha” moment — a gap in education and engagement for younger people. I loved fashion and art and going out and seeing bands. The AIDS movement had really taken off, and I remember being at Fashion Cares, a renowned fundraiser in Toronto with its bold messaging and edgier energy, thinking, why isn’t there an event like this for breast cancer?
What was the situation like when you started?
In 2001, breast cancer was largely still viewed as an issue affecting older women. Then and even still now, younger women are often told, “You’re too young.” The needs of younger women were not reflected in education, support or advocacy, leaving many young women in the dark about breast health and breast cancer.
Rethink got a lot of attention right out of the gate for our fresh approach to engaging young people in fundraising for the breast cancer cause. What we weren’t expecting was for young women with breast cancer to start reaching out. Breast cancer is rarer under age 40, so in addition to having difficulty even getting diagnosed, the stories we kept hearing involved feeling isolated both from their own peers and also at the hospital, where everyone else was their mom’s or grandmother’s age. The young women we met in those early years weren’t getting the information and support they needed. They were navigating a diagnosis at a time of life when they were just starting careers, dating, thinking of starting a family, or juggling treatment while raising young kids. Their needs were huge, but they were falling through the cracks. We soon found ourselves trying to fill some of those gaps. And it started by building a community for them. Because before Rethink, there wasn’t one.
How has it changed since?
Rethink has always evolved alongside the community we serve to meet their needs — it’s a core part of rethinking breast cancer. Evolving to meet the changing needs of younger women is our bread and butter — it’s what rethinking breast cancer means and how we’ve kept our work relevant for 25 years.
We started by engaging younger people in the breast cancer cause and quickly discovered the significant gaps younger women diagnosed with breast cancer were facing. But it all started with building a community. As we listened to our community, we expanded into tailored support programs, educational resources and community-building opportunities focused on the issues younger women told us mattered most — from fertility and careers to mental health, relationships and survivorship.
As different gaps in care come to light, cancer treatments change, and culture changes, we’ve continually evolved to meet the moment. From our early in-person support groups to being one of the first organizations to meaningfully use digital platforms to build community and engage people, to today’s hybrid programming, we’ve always met younger women where they are, using the spaces and channels they use to connect and learn innovatively.
This milestone has been a way for us to pause and look at just how much has changed since we launched the charity. Science has advanced incredibly, with the medical community having a much deeper understanding of how breast cancer behaves. Treatment has become more precise and more personalized. That means information needs have changed too. Culture has changed so much. When we started, there were no social media spaces. Social media has been a wonderful space for us to build community and for young women to connect and find each other. It’s also become a space where misinformation can spread rapidly.
As for the biggest changes:
Community: Before Rethink, there was no community for younger women concerned about or diagnosed with breast cancer. Rethink now has a global community of more than 80,000. We’ve helped thousands of younger women feel less alone during one of the most overwhelming experiences in their lives.
Young women ARE now on the breast cancer agenda: Rethink has been the driving force behind several policy changes that have closed critical gaps in care and support, not just for the younger breast cancer community but often for all cancer patients. Policy change is slow, painstaking work, so we’ve done it alongside building our own education and community programs that help younger women feel seen, heard and empowered to live better and live longer.
What more needs to be done?
While we’ve made tremendous progress, younger women still face significant gaps in awareness, care and support, and Rethink’s next era is all about closing them and empowering younger women to live better and live longer.
Many younger women tell us that the aftermath of breast cancer can be one of the most challenging parts of the experience, yet it remains under-recognized and under-supported. One of the biggest things we’re hearing from our community is the need for more support beyond active treatment, particularly in survivorship and what we often call thrivership. Rethink is in the position to keep filling that gap.
We’re entering our next era of rethinking breast cancer, focused on helping younger women live better and live longer by being there for them before, during and after — from helping all young women with breast health and risk reduction, to navigating a diagnosis should they have one, and then being there in the aftermath to help them survive and thrive. We will continue advancing advocacy efforts that improve care, access and outcomes for younger women, including those living with metastatic breast cancer.
How can our readers help?
This anniversary is a celebration of the community, impact and movement we’ve built together over the last 25 years, while launching us into our next era and inviting the public to join us in rethinking the future of breast cancer, together.
Helping starts by getting informed about Rethink’s work and understanding what our community is experiencing. Signing up for our emails and following us on social media are excellent places to start. That’s where we engage people in opportunities to make positive change, whether through taking action on one of our advocacy initiatives or helping fundraise or shop for Rethink.
Do you have any events coming up?
Yes! We are so excited about the return of Boobyball, one of Canada’s most coveted and high-profile fundraising events. Boobyball will be taking place at Rebel in Toronto on October 16, 2026.
In addition to events, we are so excited to be hosting a pop-up the entire month of October that will showcase our “25 for 25” collection of beautiful products by incredible Canadian brands, all in support of Rethink. Our pop-up experience is also where we’ll be sharing what the future of Rethink looks like, with community-led programs designed to engage the next generation of supporters and advocates and inviting people to be part of it.
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
My family adopted our cat from Annex Cat Rescue, a wonderful grassroots charity in Toronto. Through the organization, we also became empowered to take care of several feral, community cats in our neighbourhood.
