Her Story
About Jennifer
Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when my husband and I had only been married about a year and a half and were trying to have a baby through IVF. The doctors gave me a 12% chance of dying within 5 years. I met with three oncologists before finding the right one, and he told me I would need chemo, a double mastectomy, radiation, more surgeries, and he would have to remove my ovaries. He said if I had gotten pregnant when we were trying, it would have killed me. That was my moment of realizing life wasn't punishing me but saving me, and I chose to love the journey and find gratitude and trust. The main issue I found for me was healing self-love, which became the power for my healing journey. I was cancer-free in four months. I started an accessory company that made tote bags that said love, which were great for chemo, as a reminder that you're choosing love every time you walk out the door. Each bag purchase gives back to UCLA's Johnson Cancer Center, where I did my treatment. That evolved into the Zero Negative Foundation, where we have a chemo tote program supplying tote bags filled with items great for chemo to patients going through treatment. We're expanding this year into supporting caregivers as well and have a micro-grant program where we can give to caregivers and families in emergency situations who need money for treatment, gas, or kids. I wrote a book with my husband called Everyone Needs a Larry, written like a he-said-she-said story sharing both the patient and caregiver perspectives. We're hoping it will become a movie one day and it's being developed. I'm doing a TED Talk in June. We have a fundraiser every year at the Comedy Store because I love bringing comedy into fundraising since you can't be anything other than happy when you're laughing.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jennifer
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to choosing to love the journey and finding gratitude and trust, even when I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The main issue I found for me was healing self-love, which is such a major thing that most of us don't really have or worry about. That was the power for me, that was the healing journey. When I realized that life wasn't punishing me but was actually saving me, and that if life worked out perfectly before, it was still working out perfectly even with stage 4 cancer, everything changed. Love, gratitude, and trust became my superpowers, and I wanted to share that message with others. I also believe finding the right dream team of doctors and putting my life in their hands with trust was so important. I just wanted to relax and surrender, knowing this was going to heal me.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges I see is that nobody really cares for the caregivers. Caregivers are holding down the fort, but they don't get the support they need. Financial burden is such a big stress when families are dealing with cancer. Sometimes all somebody needs is help with money for treatment, gas, or kids to feel like they can keep going, because it really adds up. That's why I'm focusing on touching more caregivers these next couple of years through our micro-grant program. I also think it's so important for patients to focus on finding the dream team of doctors for them. It's really hard to get appointments with oncologists, it felt like trying to get into a club, and some people just go to the people they can get into because they're scared. But if you don't connect or you don't like their bedside manner or treatment approach, it matters so much. Treatment is different with every oncologist, and I really believe if I had chosen a different oncologist, I wouldn't be here or would be suffering from different side effects. At least get two opinions.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me are love, gratitude, and trust. These are superpowers that I discovered during my cancer journey, and they became the foundation for everything I do. Self-love is such a major thing that most of us don't really have or worry about, but it was the power for my healing journey. I'm so passionate about spreading this message and showing people that when you choose love and find gratitude even in the hardest situations, everything changes. I also value supporting others and giving back. I made a promise that if I lived, I would give back for the rest of my life, and that's what drives my work with the foundation. I believe we all need each other, nobody should go through something alone, whether it's a husband, parent, or friend.
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