Millennial Women Are Getting Cancer. This website helps them.
Scared. Michelle Reiss never thought she would ever hear the word cancer, let alone Hodgkin lymphoma, mentioned about her. But that was the diagnosis the now 36-year-old faced in 2024.
Questions answered: What treatments are coming? Would he lose his hair? One of the first things she Googled was head wraps for chemo hair loss. One of the hardest Google image searches of his life.
“There was nothing that felt like me, that felt trendy, or that could give me that uplifting feeling when I really needed it,” Reiss said.
He spoke about this problem to his friend and colleague Shiry Zofnat Yosef, who is the caregiver of his brother who is being treated for lung cancer. A few days later, Zofnat Yosef sent her a collage of clickable links with pictures of scarves and hats. Bright, colorful, beautiful. “I can deal with this,” Reiss thought. “I can be myself. I feel like myself while I’m being treated for cancer.”
This exchange was highlighted by Jadey, a cancer resource that the couple launched in October 2025 targeting anyone who is facing cancer and those who want to support someone else – although the site is a blessing for young women. It offers everything from answering medical and lifestyle questions on topics like fertility to recommending which skin care products to use during chemo. Users can check out articles, product guides and advice from editors, medical professionals and patients, and create their own subscriptions for family and friends to buy from. It is a much smaller clinical package than you can find on other websites.
“You have to know it’s going to be crazy,” Zofnat Yosef, 46, said of the cancer journey. “You need to know how to handle certain conversations. You need to know what to ask.”
It couldn’t come at a more important time. Breast, liver, ovarian and colorectal cancers are among 17 different types of cancer that are on the rise in Gen X and millennials, according to an American Cancer Society study published in 2024.
Alexandra Strelzyk, 34, was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in May 2025 while trying to conceive a third child. He appreciates the way Jadey includes topics that other stores may avoid, “that some of the things about interest, or about intimacy, maybe these things were not acceptable.”
He ‘speaks to the times’ with the rise of cancer among millennials
Where does the name “Jadey” come from? Jade is a plant and stone, with meanings of balance and healing and wellness in Eastern medicine. On the other hand, when you or someone you know receives a cancer diagnosis, you may be a little disappointed. It also sounds like your friend’s name.
As cancer enters the lives of younger and younger people, few road maps exist for how to proceed. Jadey is determined to fill the void. Its registration option, for example, reduces the inevitable deer headlights when people hear about someone’s cancer diagnosis and don’t know how to help. Like registering a marriage or child, a cancer registry allows you to customize what you need so others don’t have to ask.
No website can hold all the answers, and visitors to Jadey’s website will see notices that its content is not medical advice and to seek qualified health professionals.
Many expressed to the founders of Jadey that they wished it was still around when they were diagnosed with cancer. “I think that speaks to the time we’re in where a lot of young people are being diagnosed, and a lot of people are going on the other side, or they’re living a long time with a chronic diagnosis and being treated for years,” Reiss said.
Being “done” with cancer is not a goal. “You can still live a very fulfilling, meaningful life while you’re living with cancer and going through treatment, or you’re just living with the uncertainty that you’re finishing treatment and it might come back, and you’re never done with it,” Reiss said. “You’re not on the other side 100%.”
The ‘life-saving’ effect of storytelling
Jadey challenges the norms of what overcoming cancer looks like – something Strelzyk resonates with. He says: “Maybe don’t think I’m weak or I don’t think I’m depressed or I don’t feel well,” as there are a lot of ways people can respond to treatment and what they will need at a certain time.
“I think people get too caught up in saying ‘I don’t want to make someone uncomfortable,’ or ‘I don’t want to like to be an extra burden,’ but I think that by doing that, it ends up damaging relationships and it tends to push people away because they were uncomfortable,” said Lauren McDermott, who was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before the birth of 2024 in August. Now 23, she’s grateful that Jadey is a focused outlet for real stories that aren’t just hard-to-understand medical jargon. After a double mastectomy and radiation, she is on hormone therapy for the next 10 years and is in medically induced menopause.
Although primarily a hit with millennial women, Jadey is a resource for all identities; Ash Davidson, 46, welcomed the opportunity to share his experience on stage as a trans person. Her doctor diagnosed breast cancer during her highly anticipated surgery in 2022. Frustrated is too soft a word to describe how she felt.
Later, discussing his experience with Jadey, he acted as an anointing, crying tears and said: “When you find organizations, when you find platforms, when you find places that amplify and show stories like mine, like ours, it saves lives.”
“We need as many places as possible, where there are stories that look like all kinds of people who are affected by cancer, not just a few,” added Davidson.
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: Millennial women are getting cancer. This website helps them.
Reporting by David Oliver, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
