Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization (briefly known as Breast Cancer Network of Strength)[1], or Y-ME, is a Chicago-based national nonprofit organization with the mission to ensure, through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone. Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization does not fund research but does advocate for research.
Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization's headquarters is in Chicago, but it has support groups[2] throughout the United States, which provide peer support, educational programs, and coordinate advocacy efforts.
Y-ME's main program is the Y-ME Hotline, the only multilingual 24-hour breast cancer hotline in the country, staffed entirely by trained peer counselors who are breast cancer survivors.
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Y-ME was founded over a kitchen table in 1978 by Ann Marcou (1932–2004) and Mimi Kaplan (d. 1982), two breast cancer patients who sought to provide support for fellow breast cancer patients and their loved ones. Y-ME developed into a national organization that helped breast cancer patients receive support, access information and make informed decisions about their healthcare. More than 30 years later, Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization is a resource for breast cancer support, information and services, all provided free of charge.
Y-ME changed its name to Breast Cancer Network of Strength in 2008. In January 2011, the organization announced that it would be returning to its original name and refocusing its resources on its core program, the Y-ME Hotline.
Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization’s newsletters, publications, brochures and Web site, www.y-me.org, provide information and support to those touched by breast cancer in Spanish and English. Other Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization programs include a survivor match program[3] for patients who have similar diagnoses and life experiences, and a partner match program[4] for husbands and partners of women with breast cancer, as well as the Wig & Prosthesis Bank for those with limited resources.
Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization Advocacy program[5] works to increase breast cancer research funding, support breast cancer related clinical studies and ensure quality health care for all.[6]
In 1991, Margaret Harte, a two-time breast cancer survivor, launched the Y-ME Race in Chicago (formerly known as the Walk to Empower)[7] to serve as a symbol of hope, inspiration and support, and to provide an opportunity for individuals to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Since its inception, the Y-ME Race has become a Mother’s Day tradition and the largest cause-related event in Chicago. Eighty percent of each dollar raised benefits programs and services offered free of charge to those seeking information and support when facing breast cancer.