Y-ME Milestones

In 1978, Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization was founded over a kitchen table by two breast cancer patients — Mimi Kaplan and Ann Marcou — who believed no one should have to face this disease without support, information, and someone who truly understood what they were going through.

From those humble beginnings, Y-ME grew into a national organization that helped revolutionize the way breast cancer patients access information, find peer support, and make decisions about their healthcare. The milestones below reflect nearly five decades of service, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to ensuring that no one faces breast cancer alone.

1978 Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization is founded.
Breast cancer patients Mimi Kaplan and Ann Marcou establish Y-ME over a kitchen table in Chicago to provide peer support, fellowship, and information to breast cancer patients and their loved ones — becoming one of the first organizations of its kind in the United States.
1989 24-Hour Y-ME National Breast Cancer Hotline is launched.
The Hotline (1-800-221-2141) becomes available to anyone touched by or concerned about breast cancer or breast health — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Uniquely, the Hotline is staffed entirely by trained peer counselors who are themselves breast cancer survivors, offering not just information but the irreplaceable reassurance of lived experience.
1994 Spanish-Language Hotline is introduced.
The Spanish Hotline (1-800-986-9505) is launched to provide breast cancer support, peer counseling, and information to the Latino and Hispanic community — extending Y-ME’s reach to a population that had previously faced significant language barriers in accessing breast cancer resources.

Men’s Match Program is established.
Recognizing that breast cancer profoundly affects the partners and families of those diagnosed, Y-ME develops the Men’s Match Program to provide dedicated peer support to men whose wives or partners have breast cancer. Male callers to the Hotline are matched with trained male peer counselors who have supported a loved one through the disease — someone who truly understands what they are going through.
1999 Teen Breast Health Education Program expands nationally.
Y-ME extends its teen breast health educational program across the country, bringing age-appropriate breast awareness education to young women and helping establish healthy habits and self-awareness from an early age.
2000 ShareRing Network is launched.
Y-ME introduces the ShareRing Network — a free monthly one-hour teleconference open to anyone touched by or concerned about breast cancer. Each session features a breast cancer-related presentation by a healthcare professional, followed by a question-and-answer period and moderated small group discussion facilitated by trained volunteers. The program brings expert information and community connection directly into participants’ homes.
2002 Y-ME website is overhauled.
The Y-ME website undergoes a major redesign, significantly improving navigation and usability to give users better and faster access to breast cancer information and peer support resources — available in both Spanish and English.
2003 Hotline expands to 150 languages.
The 24-hour Y-ME National Breast Cancer Hotline adds real-time interpreter services, making peer support and breast cancer information accessible in over 150 languages — ensuring that language is never a barrier to receiving help.

Two new community programs are launched.
Y-ME introduces A Day for You — a free, confidential program designed to promote breast health awareness and provide clinical breast exams and mammography access in medically underserved communities — and Friends of Ann and Mimi, a companion initiative honoring Y-ME’s founders that helps women in underserved communities navigate the complexity of the healthcare system, accompanying them to follow-up appointments and connecting them with needed services.
2004 Hotline is re-tooled with a new peer counselor training and certification program.
Y-ME launches an enhanced Hotline platform and institutes a rigorous new peer counselor training and certification program, enabling breast cancer survivors from across the country to answer calls from their own homes. The program expands the reach and capacity of the Hotline while maintaining the highest standards of peer support quality — ensuring that no matter when someone calls, a trained survivor is ready to listen.
2005 Walk to Empower events expand to San Diego and Houston.
Modeled after the beloved Y-ME RACE Against Breast Cancer in Chicago, the Walk to Empower is launched on Mother’s Day in San Diego and Houston — bringing Y-ME’s Mother’s Day tradition to communities across the country and giving thousands of participants a meaningful way to honor those touched by breast cancer.

Multilingual resources expand significantly.
Printed educational materials and website content become available in Tagalog, Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese, in addition to Spanish and English — reflecting Y-ME’s commitment to reaching every community, in every language, with the information and support they deserve.

Y-ME’s story is one of community, courage, and connection — built one phone call, one conversation, and one act of peer support at a time. To speak with a breast cancer survivor today, call the Y-ME 24-Hour National Breast Cancer Hotline at 1-800-221-2141 (English) or 1-800-986-9505 (Spanish).