Her Story
About Jennifer
Jennifer Douglas is a writer, author, and breast cancer advocate based in California. She began writing in the spring of 2020 after her diagnosis in 2019 and subsequent treatment, which led to publishing her book on her breast cancer journey titled A Breast Cancer Journey: Living It One Step at a Time. She runs Tuesday night support meetings for the California Breast Cancer Support Group, a role she has held for about five years, and works on patient advocacy through social media and writing as well as partnerships with medical companies focused on breast cancer technology. Her background includes a music education degree from UCLA earned in 1999, several years teaching music in public schools, and later homeschooling her sons through a virtual school program from kindergarten through 12th grade. She also holds a French certification from the Alliance Francaise and is fluent in French. She attributes her success to perseverance and a focus on helping even one woman with her journey, while prioritizing family time and empowering women to make their own informed decisions.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jennifer
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say it's just perseverance. It's understanding that if I can help one woman along the way with her journey, that's enough. When my audience was small, I was helping fewer. As I've continued to do this, I've had opportunities to speak with more people and help more women.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
We all have different, we all have limited time, and so while we might want to try to be great at everything, it's really important to focus on what's important right now for you. We can do all things, but we can't do them all at once. Asking for help, and understanding that it's not your job to do everything for everyone.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't tell anyone you're actually writing a book until you actually get your momentum going. I opened up my laptop every morning and nobody knew what I was doing, even my husband had no idea, and that gave me the freedom to just kind of write and get it all out. Keeping that initial writing journey to myself helped me stay consistent on it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges that we see a lot online is people spreading misinformation about cancer treatment. I try to ensure that everyone goes to their medical team and is getting that kind of correct information from the medical team, and not following the misinformation that can be so easily shared online.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My family is really a number one priority in my life. Every time I look at an opportunity I have, I'm always framing it against, does this enhance or allow me to keep spending the amount of time I want to spend with my husband or with my kids. I really strive to encourage women that I work with to make the decisions that feel right for them. It's about listening, offering them and showing what's possible, and then giving them the ability to discover for themselves what is the decision that feels best for them right now.
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