Rethink Breast Cancer

06/19/2026

We’re here for you. And not just us here at Rethink, but this community of thousands who get what you’re going through. 💗🫂

A breast cancer diagnosis can feel incredibly isolating on so many levels. But you don’t have to navigate it alone.

Finding community can be so important in this whirlwind of an experience, which is why we continue to foster different ways to build spaces that are grounded in connection.

The Rethink Network is our go-to source for instant connection. It’s a safe, private digital space where you can ask questions, seek advice or just vent with over 2,000 breasties waiting to listen.

Rest assured, this group gets it. 💗 Sign up via our profile 🔗.

06/18/2026

Rethink welcomes the federal government’s announcement of the new National Advisory Committee on Preventive Health Services (NACPHS), which replaces the suspended Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.

This committee is responsible for developing recommendations on preventive health services, including breast cancer screening. One of its first major priorities is expected to be completing the review of Canada’s breast cancer screening guidelines, making this an important moment for the future of breast screening in Canada.

We’re encouraged to see a focus on clinical expertise, health equity, transparency and lived experience as the committee begins its work.

At Rethink, we’ve long advocated for a future where breast screening moves beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and toward risk stratification.

The reality is that not everyone faces the same risk of breast cancer. A risk-stratified approach would allow screening and prevention strategies to be tailored to an individual’s unique risk factors, helping identify those at higher risk earlier while reducing unnecessary interventions for those at lower risk.

Importantly, risk stratification also has the potential to better reflect the experiences of younger women, including those diagnosed in their 20s and 30s who may not be captured by age-based screening approaches.

We’re particularly encouraged by the committee’s focus on health equity and hope to see greater transparency around both equity and outcomes as this work moves forward.

We also hope the committee leans into the “preventative” part of its mandate. While screening is an important tool, even the best screening programs cannot prevent breast cancer, and some cancers will develop or become apparent between screening rounds.

That’s why we believe the future must include not only better screening, but also more personalized approaches to risk assessment and prevention that help ensure fewer people fall through the cracks.

We’ll be following the committee’s work closely and continuing to advocate for equitable, evidence-informed approaches to breast cancer screening in Canada. 💗

Head to our website for more, 🔗 in bio.

06/17/2026

“When she was sick, my mom had close friends but she didn’t have a community of other women her age with breast cancer. I now find myself at the centre of exactly the community I wish had been there for her.”

Thank you to MJ DeCoteau, founder and executive director of Rethink Breast Cancer, for sitting down with us to share how she turned her mother’s death into a mission — building a community of support, sisterhood, and advocacy a new generation of Canadians impacted by needed.

Learn how MJ DeCoteau turned her mother’s death into a mission — building a community of support, sisterhood, and advocacy a new generation of Canadians impacted by breast cancer needed.

06/15/2026

Rethink started because younger women impacted by breast cancer were being left out of the conversation.

In 2001, no one was talking about what it meant to be diagnosed in your 20s, 30s or 40s. The unique challenges, fears and realities of facing breast cancer at this life stage were often overlooked.

But this has always been true: breast cancer can affect younger women and they deserve education, support and advocacy that reflects their experiences.

That’s why Rethink exists. 💗

For more than two decades, we’ve been challenging assumptions, filling gaps and creating a community where younger women taking charge of their breast health or those impacted by breast cancer feel seen, heard and supported.

Since day one, we’ve been rethinking breast cancer.

Join us as we continue to ensure younger women don’t fall through the cracks. Sign up to be a part of our movement via our profile 🔗. 💗

06/11/2026

Exercise, empowerment, celebrating women in all the ways — Toronto Tempo speaks our language. And there’s no doubt we’re big Toronto Tempo fans at Rethink. 💗👏🏀

We had the absolute delight of going to a game yesterday with some community members for a night out. And the cherry on top was that they won! 🌟

Let this be a little reminder that you deserve joy, too. You deserve to have fun and make memories with the ones who make you smile and feel good, breasties and beyond! 💗

06/09/2026

“When you’re a cancer patient, all the decisions your doctors make are driven by data. But when you don’t have accurate data to guide people, you have people like me who end up completely in the dark.” — .arise

Thank you, Tabitha, for speaking to the reality of Canada’s fragmented cancer data and supporting the campaign. You nailed why this gap in data is extremely detrimental to people impacted by breast cancer. 🎯

Today, Rethink is meeting with Canada’s federal Minister of Health, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, to discuss the urgent need for more coordinated and connected cancer data systems in Canada, including better reporting on metastatic breast cancer (MBC) recurrences.

We’re hopeful our meeting with the Minister of Health will help move meaningful change forward in having more complete cancer data. Because you deserve to be counted!

Please sign the petition via our profile 🔗 to make your voice heard. 💗

06/08/2026

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Canada. Yet we don’t know how many Canadians will receive a stage 4, metastatic diagnosis each year.

Canada reports statistics on initial cancer diagnosis and mortality but not recurrences, which represent the majority of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) cases. Without this data, we cannot truly understand MBC and its impact.

Racialized data also isn’t collected, leaving us in the dark about understanding the effects of breast cancer on People of Colour and Indigenous women, including how race and systemic racism impacts rates of diagnosis, recurrence or metastasis. The same for data on the social determinants of health overall.

That’s why we created the movement, a call to have access to more complete and harmonized cancer data that will allow us to identify high risk populations, gaps in care and opportunities to improve outcomes.

Tomorrow, Rethink Breast Cancer is meeting with Canada’s federal Minister of Health, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, to discuss the urgent need for more coordinated and connected cancer data systems in Canada and .

You deserve to be counted. Sign the petition via our profile 🔗 to help us make sure you are.

06/04/2026

‘The social side effects of cancer are real, and nobody really talks about them.

Getting diagnosed with cancer in your 20s impacts every part of your life - including your relationships. Truthfully, one of the hardest parts for me to navigate has been the way it has changed my social life. 

Some people get uncomfortable.

Some disappear completely.

And some show up for you with a kind of love and care you’ll never forget.

You find yourself comforting other people about your own diagnosis.

You will lose friends.

You will make new ones. 

Cancer changes you - it changes the way you see people, the way you move through the world, and who you choose to keep close 🤍’ — .mercedes

Thank you so much, Sabrina, for sharing about the part of this experience that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Cancer ghosting is so real. And when you’re diagnosed in the prime of your social life, that carries a lot of weight. That’s why we’ve always been here for younger women. We get it, we got you. 💗