Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Souers
Hi Jasmine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
December 30, 2016, at the age of 26, I heard four words that changed my life forever, “We found cancer cells.” In shock, I looked at my mom across the room and asked who the doctor was speaking to.
The road to an accurate breast cancer diagnosis was long and challenging. Six months prior, at the age of 25, I was misdiagnosed by my primary care physician. I didn’t receive the appropriate screening, blindly trusted the doctor knew what screenings I needed because of my family history, and lacked the knowledge to ask the right questions to advocate for myself effectively.
Everyone I encountered, from the provider to the tech performing my mammogram, kept telling me I was “too young” to have breast cancer. At the time, I was ready to accept any diagnosis—so long as it wasn’t cancer—just to move on with my life and put my persistent symptoms behind me. While I didn’t think it was cancer, or at least I didn’t want it to be, I knew my doctor was making an uninformed guess and that something was definitely wrong.
So, at an unrelated appointment with my OBGYN, I shared my concern once again. This time, instead of being dismissed, my OBGYN said “If you think something is wrong, something is wrong.” She referred me to a specialist that ultimately discovered the cancer – multiple tumors that covered 9 cm of my left breast.
The day of my bi-lateral mastectomy, I couldn’t stop my body from shaking. As I was rolled into the operating room, I realized it was not a fear of death that scared me. I was afraid that if I died that day, I would have to give an account for the things God told me to do, but I didn’t because I was paralyzed by the fear of failure.
When God allowed my eyes to open after my surgery, I vowed to not let my pain be wasted. Over years of treatments, surgeries, setbacks and triumphs, I made notes of all the experiences that made me feel out of place and undersupported as a young, Black woman in a space dominated by older White women. Then, I made the decision to trust Him to do the things He planted in my heart to do. Spoiler Alert: He’s been exceeding my expectations ever since.
I started with an online store called The Lovely Lionheart, creating merch for young women affected by breast cancer and sending care packages to women around the world. In 2019, I co-founded For the Breast of Us, the first online community for women of color affected by breast cancer and led national efforts to help support and educate women in the ways I wished someone had done for me. Today, I am the founding president of The Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance and Editor of More Life Magazine, breaking barriers for people affected by breast cancer (men included) through the power of community and collaboration.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I love the stories of the visionaries, builders and leaders in the Bible because I can clearly see how these various great assignments from God also faced great opposition. While there were challenges in learning how to operate a business, something I didn’t anticipate was my work becoming an idol and the source of my identity.
As I mentioned before, my awakening started with what I hadn’t done for God instead of who I was in God and who He wanted to be to me. So, I burned myself out quickly and frequently trying to take on every assignment and do all the things, burdened by the responsibility to not waste my second chance and help as many people as possible.
I couldn’t see it until God told me to leave my second company to start my current organization, The Missing Pink. The space in between the two efforts revealed this work and productivity-based value system I had about myself and had unconsciously projected onto my relationship with God. I didn’t know who I was apart from my work, good deeds and accolades.
But I allowed God to rebuild me in the breakdown. A revelation of His love helped me understand that there is nothing to be earned from Him because He gives His all freely. There are also no good deeds that will exempt me from the storms of life – we all have to go through peaks and valleys. I’ve learned my obedience to every assignment from Him (not every opportunity that comes my way in general) is an opportunity to worship and honor Him for who He is, not because I’m afraid of “disappointing” Him.
This understanding has created a beautiful foundation for God to do a new thing in and through me with my current assignment at The Missing Pink and More Life Magazine.
We’ve been impressed with The Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance/ More Life Magazine, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Missing Pink Breast Cancer Alliance is a national 501(c)3 dedicated to improving the lives of people of color affected by breast cancer through community and collaboration. I connect advocates and organizations from across the sector to exchange knowledge, and work together to maximize impact through partnerships and shared resources.
My flagship initiative is More Life Magazine, a curated guide to better breast health and wellness for all that brings together resources and expertise from across the breast cancer community to single source. This resource is available online, in print and as a digital pdf and it created with breaking barriers to care in mind. Our community resource library features more 300 local and national organizations, connecting people to resources in their back yard and beyond. I’ve loved the feedback from the community about the diversity of experiences we’ve featured and the value of the information we provide to help people better advocate for themselves and their loved ones.
What are your plans for the future?
In recent years, I’ve expanded my focus from breast cancer-specific spaces to broader cancer communities. This journey has strengthened my belief that tackling our most complex challenges requires breaking out of silos and fostering collaboration across diverse perspectives. I believe there is a segment of the general cancer community that shares the same goal of driving meaningful, lasting improvements for the health of all communities. So, I’m excited to see how The Missing Pink will evolve into a hub for all cancer advocates and leaders—a space where ideas can be shared, solutions can be created, and traditional boundaries can be reimagined.
Contact Info:
- Website: themissingpink.org and themorelifemag.com
- Instagram: @themorelifemag @thevirtuousvisionary
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themorelifemag
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-dionne-souers/
