I’m excited to share a new online breast cancer resource available to women in Washington State: youneedtoknow.info!
Last year, after a frustrating experience searching for breast cancer resources that ended in way too many irrelevant results, I imagined how it would feel if I had been recently diagnosed and in need of support. Several conversations with cancer patients and nonprofit organizations confirmed this was a common experience – finding the right support services online can be ridiculously challenging. There’s a large amount of disease-related information available on the web, but no easy way to discover support services and programs.
So I started thinking of ways to solve this problem, and youneedtoknow.info was born. With the help of community feedback and healthcare organizations and providers, I want this to become the go-to source for breast cancer patients and loved ones searching for nearby programs and services. The site is launching with a focus on Washington State support groups and resources (more than 100 so far), with plans to add new features such as screening information and events based on user feedback.
The site has been a labor of love for the past year, but I was looking through some old notes from Komen board meetings and realized the seed for the project was really planted 10 years ago when Komen Puget Sound Founder CJ Taylor, Cherie Skager (then Komen’s Grants Manager) and I were throwing around ideas for a comprehensive online breast cancer resource… and trying to figure out who should put together such a thing.
I guess some seeds take a while to germinate!
The technical side of the launch is done, but it really needs your help in order to thrive:
- Are we missing a group or service? Let me know by suggesting a resource.
- We have lots of ideas for future features, but want to focus on the greatest need. Help us determine what’s next.
Special thanks to Tracy Dart, Tom Everill, Josh Harrison, Tom Lee, Shari Sewell, Cheryl Shaw, Cherie Skager and Nicole Taylor for helping make this dream a reality. CJ, this is for you my friend!
