Back in the summer of 2012, I met a food blogger at the last New World Expo to take place in NYC. She mentioned that she wanted to start a cancer blog, since she was a Stage 3 breast cancer survivor. While she wanted to blog about her personal experience, I advised her that there were already a zillion of those most notably, Crazy Sexy Life. Instead, I proposed that we partner to start a cancer blog that was focused, not on a personal recollection, but addressed the needs of the patients and their families, specifically in terms of lifestyle changes. In addition, I added that a forum where people could chat anonymously was key, as there was nothing like that at the time. Unfortunately, as often happens when I give people great ideas without getting paperwork signed (my lawyer has banned me from doing that although I recently did it again!), she ended up paying me for a few months then running off with the idea and claiming that it was all hers. And, as also often happens, when people take ideas they didn’t conceive themselves and try to create them, it was not executed properly. So I just focused on my other multiple web ventures. I did, however, consider the whole episode a great shame as the need for a site/app for cancer patents was a vital necessity and there was tons of interest in it.
So I was super excited when I got invited to the launch of Cure Diva at the Bryant Park Hotel in October. Cure Diva is exactly the site and online network that I had t conceived of. According to co-founders Efrat Roman (who is currently battling breast cancer) and Ester Gofer, Cure Diva “is a personalized lifestyle solutions online shop for women facing Breast Cancer, the mission is for women to face breast cancer with style.” This is one of those cases where I am glad someone seems to have had the same idea at the same time as me. Because there is such a need for this information and it is done exactly how I envisioned it. Cure Diva is divided into the stages that every breast cancer patient will go through from diagnosis to treatment to after care, addressing the specific needs at each of them. In addition, the site offers users a vital support system and all the products that patients will need at each stage. Focusing on solely breast cancer allows the site to more comprehensively serve the patients, who use it. The co-founders were just lovely and one even offered to advise me on another health related site I am launching in 2014.
It was also a pleasure to see Guliana Rancic, who has become a spokesperson for Cure Diva, look so healthy and vital at the launch after her bout with breast cancer last year. Rancic stressed the importance of Cure Diva and stated “When I was going through treatments, I would pick my favorite fashion items to feel myself again. We talk about the medicine you have to take and treatments you have to do if you are going through breast cancer, but feeling like a woman and feminine is important.” I asked her the question we all wanted to know about a Baby Number Two for her and Bill and she delighted us by divulging that they are working on it! I am hoping for a girl this time, so she can have one of each.
Go to CureDiva at: www.curediva.com
