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Natural Awakenings Richmond

Local Women Launch Campaign Focused on Friendship and Ill

Sarah Choi and Rebecca Thomas have launched the new website, IfIGetSick.com, with icebreakers, tips, guidelines and videos to help start conversations to help friends broach difficult conversations regarding life-threatening illnesses and set expectations and commitments before someone becomes sick.

The idea for If I Get Sick emerged after Thomas’ breast cancer diagnosis in 2014. Both restauranteurs, the two women formed a friendship over food and shared interests. As Thomas explained her experiences about cancer and Choi listened, the two women realized there was more they could do than just talk about the past. They could have a conversation about what they could do for each other if one of them was ill.

If I Get Sick will also utilize social media to raise awareness and encourage talk among friends that could ultimately lead to conversations about health, friendship, commitment and care. “We want women to feel comfortable bringing up this topic with friends and talking about what the friendship could be like if the other one ever gets sick,” says co-founder Choi. “We’re a society that shies away from awkward and unsettling topics, but the impact this conversation could have truly could be life changing—for both the sick and the well.”

Boiled down to the most basic level, If I Get Sick’s hashtag and motto is “letstalk.”


For more information, visit IfIGetSick.com.