Our story
We are two dynamic (and oftentimes tired!) women diagnosed with cancer during the height of our careers. Although cancer is a big part of who we are, we refuse to let it define us! Together, we have transformed our “lemons” into “lemonade” by tapping into our combined skills and experience in journalism, patient advocacy, communications, social work, fashion and beauty to help women kick cancer together!
We are passionate about helping women impacted by cancer feel connected, informed and hopeful. Our personal journeys have taught us firsthand how cancer affects us in multiple ways, before, during and beyond treatment. It’s much more than just a diagnosis…the effects are outside in and inside out. Our community is here to help you take on cancer and deliver information to help you to live your best life. So let’s start making lemonade together!
Michele Nadeem-Baker, is an award-winning patient advocate and a leading voice for cancer patients and survivors. She has worked nationally as a broadcast journalist and globally as the Chief Communications Officer for well-known, international publicly-traded multi-billion-dollar corporations. A leukemia diagnosis changed her life but did not stop her. Michele started helping patients her first day of treatment in 2015, with live video reports from the chemotherapy chair to demystify the cancer journey.
Calling on her combined career expertise and continuing cancer journey she actively engages with, and empowers, patients and their caregivers to move forward in their lives via social media and patient-friendly video programs with leading oncologists, patients and patient engagement communities. She is driven to ensure no patient ever feels alone, unknowing and unsupported during their cancer journey.
Michele exemplifies the necessity of patient advocacy and education as a video medical reporter and program host for Patient Power, a health communications news company that empowers patients to play active roles in their own care and for The Patient Story in humanizing cancer information and through storytelling.
On a mission to ensure patients’ voices are heard, Michele works with major pharmaceutical companies on their Patient Advisory Councils and patient engagement programs. During her career she has worked with life and health sciences organizations, including The American Cancer Society, Whitehead Institute on Biomedical Research and Lavoie Health Science on media relations, strategy and more. She has served as a Patient Representative for the FDA, is a Dana Farber Cancer Institute patient partner and frequently quoted as the voice of patients in major media outlets including NBC Nightly News, CNN, USA Today, Bloomberg, STAT, Boston Globe and LA Times.
She is relentlessly devoted to patient advocacy and is a recognized leading influencer, recently being named the WEGO Health Social Health Awards – Healthcare Collaborator of the Year out of 21,000 nominees. She has led communications and media relations at Siemens, Royal Caribbean Cruises and more. Michele lives in the Boston area with her husband, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, and their Chocolate Labrador. They have three children.
Susan Kanoff is a powerful voice for women’s empowerment. She founded Uncommon Threads, a nationally featured nonprofit that serves low-income women, out of her unique mix of experience and skills as a social worker, wardrobe stylist and style blogger. Before launching Uncommon Threads, Susan dedicated nearly 25 years to helping low-income families move out of poverty through the HUD-funded Family Self-Sufficiency Program, and has received several awards for her work including The YWCA’s Tribute to Women Award, NAHRO awards for program innovation and a Massachusetts state citation for her dedication to supporting families.
Susan’s connections in fashion, beauty, and wellness have been crucial to Uncommon Threads’ success. Her blog, The Midlife Fashionista has been an important tool for attracting national attention to the program.
Susan has been featured in local (Boston) publications and television as well as in Woman’s World Magazine.
She lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband Richard and has two grown children and a granddaughter. She was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in 2018 and shares her cancer journey publicly to help others. She is a member of Janssen Oncology’s blood cancer Patient Advisory Council.
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