I’m Taking Charge
Taking Back What Cancer Stole From Me
Our Mission
To empower every woman confronting breast cancer with a sense of choice and ownership over her body's evolution
Who We Are
We are a team of writers, physicians, and survivors who believe the women that are faced with a breast cancer diagnosis should be empowered with the information to make long-term decisions for both their health and their comfort.
Our Story
Lynae Dodson, the Executive Director of I’m Taking Charge, was working as a medical device consultant in 2013. In order to help a breast reconstruction medical device company understand its audience better, she engaged in around 150 interviews of women with breast cancer. One important question she asked these women was where they got their information about breast reconstruction.
The answers she received were staggering. Far too many never heard about breast reconstruction from their breast surgeons. Some were only told of one specific procedure. Moreover, when asked about looking for more information online, nobody could name a single resource that provided them the information they needed.
That’s why in 2015, Lynae founded I’m Taking Charge. It’s been an exhilarating ride, with many moving stories from our readers! Now, in 2017, we are applying for our 501c3 nonprofit status. The Take Charge of the Card Holiday Contest will help us cover the cost of going nonprofit.
Here are some other highlights from the last two years:
- Partnered with Dr. Frank J. DellaCroce, MD, FACS, founding partner of the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery and St. Charles Surgical Hospital
- 5k unique visitors per month with 18k page views
- 19k followers on Facebook and 5k on Instagram
- Recent Awards: “Top Cancer Blog” by I Had Cancer and an “Inspirational Blog” by Navigating Cancer
Quotes from Our Readers
“Living in a small community it's hard to get a lot of information. This site was given to me by a friend. During lunch, myself and several girlfriends looked it over. Through fact checking, we found it to very reliable and not self serving. The site gave several options, not just one. It provided help from start to finish. It was written in layman terms, which we all appreciated. We also liked the support system that the site provided. Overall, is one of the best sites we have seen for information, support and guidance.” –JulieMontes
“My mother passed away from cancer. I have seven sisters and discovered this site at a conference. I know that my sister who is an R.N. at an Oncology center constantly tells her patients about this wonderful place for information and resources. Her patients really liked reading other peoples stories and the non biased information. I would encourage anyone with questions to talk to their doctors, friends and consult this site.” – T.Rex