JAANUU Co-Founder to Nurses Affected by Breast Cancer: ‘I See You’

Disclosure: JAANUU is the official scrubs partner of Nurse.org’s Nurse Night Events. Nurse.org received no compensation for this article and retained full editorial control.

Every October, our units turn pink. Pink ribbons show up on badge reels, pink scrub caps appear in the OR, and pink treats make their way into break rooms. But for those of us in healthcare, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is about so much more than a color.

It’s the patient whose hand you held before her mastectomy. It’s the coworker who kept picking up shifts through chemo. It’s your mom, your sister, your best friend. For some of us, it’s our own story.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States after skin cancer, and about 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. In a profession made up largely of women, many nurses will encounter breast cancer not only through patient care, but also through coworkers, family members, friends, or their own personal experiences.

I’ve been a nurse for more than two decades, and breast cancer has touched nearly every area of healthcare I’ve worked in, in one way or another.

For this exclusive Nurse.org interview, I asked Dr. Neela Sethi Young, physician and co-founder of JAANUU, about the company’s Warrior Pink campaign, the role healthcare professionals play in supporting patients and families, and what she hopes nurses take away from Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Her answers below are shared exactly as she provided them.

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Here’s the thing about being a nurse during Breast Cancer Awareness Month: we often live it from both sides of the bed.

We may be the ones providing education after a new diagnosis, caring for patients during treatment, managing side effects, or sitting with someone during a difficult moment. At the same time, we may be supporting a parent, sibling, friend, or coworker, or navigating our own diagnosis.

When I asked what makes Breast Cancer Awareness Month personally meaningful to her as both a physician and co-founder, Dr. Neela told Nurse.org:

“As a physician, I’ve seen how deeply breast cancer can affect patients and the people who love them. This moment is meaningful to me because it’s a chance to stand behind those people and remind them that they’re not alone. And as a founder, I’m grateful that we can come together with the community we’ve built to show up for people in a way that has a real impact.”

Working in healthcare gives us a close-up view of both the challenges patients face and the strength they so often show throughout treatment.

I asked Dr. Neela how being part of the healthcare community has shaped the way she views breast cancer and the people affected by it. Her answer is one I think every nurse will recognize:

“As healthcare professionals, we’re often close to the hardest parts of someone’s journey, but we’re also privileged to witness incredible strength and resilience. That perspective has made me see breast cancer not simply as a disease, but as something that touches entire communities of people who deserve care and support, too.”

That word “communities” stood out to me. When one person is diagnosed, a whole circle goes through it with them: family members, friends, caregivers, coworkers, and the healthcare professionals who support them. Nurses are very often part of that circle.

JAANUU’s limited-edition Warrior Pink collection is part of the company’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign.

I asked Dr. Neela what inspired the collection and what she hopes healthcare professionals feel when they wear it.

“We wanted Warrior Pink to feel like more than a color. It’s a symbol of the strength we see in patients, survivors, families, and the healthcare professionals who care for them. My hope is that wearing it feels like a small but powerful way to say, I’m with you.”

I love that. Our patients notice what we wear. For nurses who show support through what they wear, it’s one visible way to let patients, survivors, families, and coworkers know they’re not alone.

JAANUU’s campaign also includes a fundraising component benefiting Susan G. Komen®.

I asked Dr. Neela why it was important for the campaign to go beyond awareness and create a tangible way to give back.

“Awareness can create connection, but action is what allows us to extend that care beyond ourselves. By donating a portion of sales to Susan G. Komen, we can help turn the support of our community into something that reaches people who need it.”

Here’s how the campaign works:

Through October 31, 2026, JAANUU will donate 5% of all sales from the limited-edition Warrior Pink collection to Susan G. Komen®. JAANUU is also offering a limited pink ribbon embroidery, available on any scrub top or jacket for $5, with 5% of embroidery sales also going to Komen. JAANUU has committed to a guaranteed minimum donation of $3,000.

The Warrior Pink collection and pink ribbon embroidery option are available at jaanuu.com.

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Nurses spend much of their careers caring for other people, sometimes while managing difficult circumstances in their own lives.

Some of us keep working while supporting a loved one through cancer treatment. Others are navigating our own diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or survivorship while continuing to care for patients.

This was the question I most wanted to ask. What would Dr. Neela say directly to nurses and healthcare professionals who have personally been affected by breast cancer?

“To the nurses and healthcare professionals who have faced breast cancer themselves or have watched someone they love go through it: I see you, and I hope you know that you deserve the same care and compassion you give so freely to others. And when you need it, know that there is a whole community ready to stand beside you.”

Read that again, nurses. You deserve the same care you give.

As a nurse mentor, here’s what I hope you take away from Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

• Take care of your own health, too. We’re quick to remind patients about screenings and slow to schedule our own. If you’re due for a mammogram or other recommended screening, talk with your healthcare provider about what’s right for you based on your age, personal history, family history, and individual risk factors.
• Check on your coworkers. Someone you work beside every day may be navigating a diagnosis or supporting someone they love. A simple “How are you really doing?” in the med room can make a meaningful difference.
• Lean on your community. Nurses are often the people others rely on during difficult moments. When you’re the one who needs support, let the people around you show up for you, too.
• Participate in a way that feels meaningful to you. Whether that means wearing pink, donating to a breast cancer organization, supporting a coworker, volunteering, or having an important conversation about screening, awareness can take many forms.

The pink ribbons will come down from our units on November 1, but the experiences of patients, survivors, families, and healthcare professionals continue all year.

When I asked Dr. Neela what she hopes people remember once Breast Cancer Awareness Month is over, she said:

“Breast cancer doesn’t stop being personal when October ends. The people affected by it are living those experiences every day, and I hope we continue to meet them with compassion, support, and a willingness to show up—not just when it’s visible, but when they need us most.”

Nurses show up for people every single day. This month, and every month after, let’s make sure we show up for one another, too.

🤔 How is your unit marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year? Pink scrubs, fundraisers, a wall of names, something else? Share what’s happening where you work in the comments below.