Yael Cohen wearing Cameo and Mendocino, jewelry by Jasmine
“Success is bal a nce. ”
- Yael Cohen
Founder and CEO of Fuck Cancer
Yael Cohen loves to cuss.
And she does it with purpose.
The CEO of Fuck Cancer respects the censorship
media outlets employ during radio and television
interviews, but believes that vocabulary
strengthens dialogue. “Cancer’s not going
anywhere, so we have to learn how to deal with
it and talk about it better,” she says. In this fight
between people and disease, Cohen is promoting a
paradigm shift with no quiet conservation or
socially prescribed answers and a vocabulary far
from G-Rated.
CAREER SAMPLING IS WISE.
Born in South Africa, the 26-year-old Vancouver
native had her sights set on being a doctor, but
after two years into her pre-med, decided that she
wanted to “fix the system, not the patients.” After
graduating from political science and shifting to a
career in finance, every element of Cohen’s
education has come together to run a thriving
cancer charity.
EARLY PHILANTHROPY.
In high school, she established Night of Hope, a
fashion show fundraiser. “I started to raise money
for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation with
no family or personal experience,” she says.
Although she considers it may have been a mode of
“karmic protection,” her mother’s diagnosis years
later would test mortality.
Building a community of dialogue and experience
Cohen established Fuck Cancer to fulfill needs not
being met. “We give a safe space where you can
have an authentic emotional response,” she says
of a community inclusive of patients, caregivers
and survivors. The organization will be launching
new projects this summer that encourage people to
engage with each other through shared, experiential
knowledge.
Check out: www.letsfcancer.com