![[Unified Purpose] Rachel Minion from Beyond Basic Needs Ep. 18](https://penji.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BLOG-IMAGE-Rachel-Minion.jpg)
Explaining a Meme to a Victorian Child
Daniela (D): Okay, Rachel, to get us started, can you please help me explain a meme, the concept of a meme, to a Victorian child?
Rachel Minion (RM): Oh, absolutely not. I can’t even imagine what a Victorian child would be, much less how we work on it. But I think we’d have to go down the path of something along the lines of… this is how we communicate in this day and age. There’s a thing called the internet and we post jokes. I don’t know. I’m kind of a little bit older, so I was here before the internet was before we could Google things.
D: Yeah. So you didn’t use the internet before. I mean, how did you Google things? Or not Google, how did you research things?
RM: The library and a phone book. We had encyclopedias. Research for class projects was terrible, but at the same time, we had more freedom because we had a phone that had a cord, so we never took it with us. But we could also slam the phone when we were really upset to hang up. So that was the bonus.
D: Now just pressing that button just doesn’t give the same effect. That makes sense. If I’m having a fight with a guy and I just want to yell at him and throw the phone down the window, it’s so much more satisfying to throw that thing down.
RM: If you can just hang up it makes so much more sense. It’s so much better than just pressing a button.
D: You’re right, not even pressing because we’re just tapping on our screens nowadays. There’s no button. That’s it. And you don’t want to break your phone, it’s too expensive to replace.
RM: Yeah, it’s like a six hundred dollar phone. You don’t want to ruin it.
D: You know, it has ruined spontaneity. I will agree with that.
Introducing the Guest
D: But Rachel, guys, everybody, you have all heard her. This is Rachel Minion from Beyond Basic Needs and we are having her today at Unified Purpose. So you guys know the drill. Welcome. This is a podcast where we tell inspiring tales of compassion, resilience, community spirit, and so many other amazing things. I’m your host, Daniela, and I’m Penji’s Partnership Coordinator. And joined with us is Rachel from Beyond Basic Needs. I think I already said that. Hi, Rachel. How are you today?
RM: Hi, I’m divine. How are you?
D: I’m great. I’m so excited to have you. I love—we do a lot of podcasts on our network and Unified Purpose is one of my favorite ones. I love talking to nonprofits like yourself and giving you guys a platform, so I’m really excited.
RM: Thank you so much.
Beyond Basic Needs: Mission and Impact
D: So to get us started, get the ball rolling, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, about Beyond Basic Needs, what you guys do, everything that we need to know for everybody that’s watching who’s not familiar? The floor is yours.
RM: So at Beyond Basic Needs, we provide an actual path for anyone who has someone in their network or maybe it’s for themselves to receive a chemo care kit anywhere across the US. The goal here is to have that actionable step because in most cases, when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, their support network may or may not have touched cancer before. They may have had mom who had it, they may not. And if you haven’t, rather than speaking up and knowing what to say and how to handle the situation, they don’t do anything. And so there’s silence. It’s the most isolating time in a person’s life. You’ve just now been faced with death and you’re alone. So rather than being alone, that’s where Beyond Basic Needs comes in. You can come to our site, you can order a chemo care kit and we ship it out for free. And we try to provide that small bit of support for a cancer warrior who’s on their journey.
D: That’s amazing. I think what I—when I was doing research on you guys and I saw the care packages that you were sending, what really stood out to me is how you are looking into the small details of what it’s like to actually fight cancer and how I think a lot of times when we’re talking about being a cancer warrior or survivor, you look at the big picture. You see kind of like, oh, you know, this person has leukemia or they have this terrible, rare form of cancer that nobody has, and they have a tragic life. And that’s kind of where your head goes—immediately to the worst things. And we don’t talk enough about how it’s just a matter of getting through the day. It’s a daily struggle, and it really is all about just making the day bearable for a person, especially when they have very rare and complicated forms of cancer. It’s just getting them through the shower, through a meal, going to the bathroom. And these types of things are really just looking into these details that I think we sometimes overlook.
RM: My cancer diagnosis was eleven years ago. I was in my thirties and I was in New York City. We lived in Chicago, but here I am, I’m in Google headquarters and it’s so cool. I’m there for this Verizon executive conference, supposed to be talking to all these different groups of people, and all of a sudden my pants don’t fit. I’ve never been this bloated in my life. It was painful. Then they wheeled in the coffee cart and the bagel cart, and the smell of it was horrible.
So I think I have a Google MD, so I whip out my trusty phone and we Google it. And guess what? I’m pregnant. That’s it. I’ve Googled all my symptoms. I’m nauseous, I just need to get out of there. I’m green, I can’t even talk. So I leave the conference, take the first flight home, and now I’m going through all the symptoms. I’m craving donuts—I haven’t eaten donuts in over a decade—but I need a donut. My husband’s asking what type. I don’t know. I don’t eat donuts, but I need one. I was like, I have to be pregnant.
A week and a half goes by and I’m having all these stomach pains. If you Google stomach pains and pregnancy, women say these are the worst stomach pains for nine months. I’m thinking I am the biggest wimp. I try to just make it through the night. I go to urgent care the next morning. It’s been a week and a half since all this happened, and they say, “Ma’am, you’re not pregnant.”
D: Oh.
RM: So what am I? The doctor says, “I don’t know. Our lab is closed tomorrow, but we’ll have results Monday morning and we’ll call you.” Okay, great. We go about our day. The next morning at seven a.m., I get a phone call from the lab. They say, “We’ve never seen a white blood cell count so high. You need to go to the hospital now.”
The Shocking Diagnosis
RM: I was like, well, this is Chicago and going to a hospital—I assume last night was busy. I’ll be there for hours. So can I stop and get food on the way? They said, “No, just get to the hospital.”
So I decide there’s probably been gunshot wounds, things happening. Chicago is a busy place. Normally if you go to the ER, you wait a few hours. Let me just stop and get bagels on the way. So we did. We show up at the hospital, I show them my phone with the results, and I get right in. I didn’t even get through registration before I was wheeled to the back.
There isn’t a hospital system in the world that doesn’t want your insurance and payment details up front. That doesn’t happen. That’s how urgent this was. Turns out my appendix had burst the week and a half before—almost two weeks at this point.
D: How are you walking around for so long? I thought you died if that was the case.
RM: No, it’s not. They took care of a lot of things for me. I had to be in the hospital to get the infection down. Six weeks later, I had surgery to remove my appendix. Two weeks after that, I went back in for my follow-up. I asked, “Do I need to bring anybody?” They said no. I had just quit my job, accepted another job, and was excited.
The appointment takes forever. They push me back two to three hours. I’m sitting in a brick building with no Wi-Fi, having to sit by the window to get service. They take me to the back and say, “Ma’am, you have cancer.”
Processing the News
RM: I said, “Nope, I’m on Candid Camera. This isn’t funny. Bring out the camera.” He says, “Okay, I’ll let you sit here for a bit.” The next thing that hit me was, “Chicago just legalized pot—does that give me a get-out-of-jail-free card?” That was the only upside I could think of.
They said, “Why don’t we get back to next steps. You have to have surgery and then we’ll talk about treatments.” I go to schedule an appointment, see my phone on low battery, and text my family, “So I have cancer.” The message went out and my phone shut off.
It should have been a 45-minute drive home, but it took two hours and forty-five minutes before I could walk through the door. Nobody could contact me. My family was freaking out.
From there, it’s about figuring out the next surgery and what you’re going to do. We were new to Chicago. No friends or support system. My coworkers and my husband’s coworkers kind of left. Friends disappeared. Half of our family went MIA. People didn’t know what to do or say. They didn’t want to talk about the disease. I just wanted someone to call and tell me about a reality show.
D: That’s really why the nonprofit came to be.
A Happy Ending and a Mission
D: Yeah, no, I think it’s like—you’re sitting here now, so I’m assuming it had a happy ending. You’re obviously doing a lot better. Do you still have cancer?
RM: No. I am very lucky. I just had my ten-year colonoscopy and I am still no evidence of disease, which is a miracle. I have appendix cancer, which makes me one in a million or one in two million. In most cases, they don’t catch it, but my body saved my life because my appendix burst and it encapsulated. Had that not happened, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation today.
D: That’s amazing. I’m so happy you turned it into something where you’re helping people who have cancer. And most importantly, I think when you’re doing something like a nonprofit, it’s really important to have a personal connection to it because you can understand people going through it a lot better than someone who has never battled any kind of terrifying disease like that.
RM: Thank you. And we have one of our board members—she was one lymph node away from being stage four breast cancer. She has helped curate these kits with me, including a port pillow so it covers the port from their seatbelt. You can get to and from treatments better. We also have ginger chews, tattoo eyebrows, and so many great sponsors making a difference for cancer warriors.
Helping Patients and Families
D: Are you helping people by educating the family members or friends of someone with cancer on how to show up and be there for them? Or are you focusing more on the people who have cancer?
RM: I write a lot of content for those who want to know what to do, what to say, how to help, how to be present. You can find that on our website. For those undergoing chemotherapy, we provide some content as well, but it’s mainly the kits because we think those are the most important things we can do to be a part of their journey.
D: Amazing. My grandfather died of cancer. He was old, so we weren’t necessarily surprised by his death—it was more that cancer was just the thing that killed him. He had it for about ten years, starting with stomach cancer and then it spread. Toward the end, there was no treatment to help him. It was about palliative care. The last days were focused on comfort because he was in constant pain. You couldn’t even touch his hand. It was more about small wins—like getting him to eat half a pudding cup—than big treatments.
RM: Thank you for sharing. I’ll say this a million times—a cancer warrior is what I call someone with a diagnosis. The minute you receive it, your life changes. It’s life or death, and we’re all warriors. I’ll never use the word “survivor” because it doesn’t honor the battle. Your grandfather fought for ten years—he’s a warrior.
Finding Peace in the Process
D: I don’t tell that story with sadness. It was his time. We were at peace with it because he was in pain and no longer himself. He had lived a long, fulfilling life. I think we don’t talk enough about how taxing it is for the person with cancer. I can’t believe when you got diagnosed you realized a lot of people just weren’t there for you because they didn’t know what to do.
RM: A lot of times, all you want is for someone to show up. Send me an emoji, something about a reality show, a stupid meme—anything that lightens my day so I don’t carry this load alone.
D: One of the biggest things is making the person feel less alone, because cancer is lonely. You’re the one going through chemo, radiation, surgery—you do that by yourself. It’s scary.
RM: What we did was create “bookends.” After my diagnosis, we went to Lollapalooza. My goal was to end treatment at ACL. Seeing incredible concerts gave us something to look forward to.
From Patient to Nonprofit Founder
D: I think it’s inspiring that you’re here telling this story. How did you go from being a patient in remission to starting an organization?
RM: Ten years ago, I swore what happened to me would never happen again to anyone in my life. If someone had a diagnosis, I’d do what I could. At Ticketmaster, a coworker of fifteen years was diagnosed with stage four cancer. The same pattern happened—silence. He was in the hospital with a fiancée and no support. I brought everyone together to send care packages and games. It hit me that this happens regularly.
When the pandemic hit, I was still at Ticketmaster. With no events, we were furloughed. That day I turned my marketing side hustle into my full-time gig and started figuring out how to make something from nothing to support people anywhere. I’d never run a nonprofit. I talked to a girlfriend going through chemo, she shared things she received, and we started creating chemo care kits together.
In the last three years, we’ve sent nearly 1,200 packages. We didn’t market—no SEO—just grassroots, so we could handle five kits a week. Then in January, we were featured at the top of Cancer Care News. Suddenly, we went from five a week to thirty-five requests a day. I didn’t want to say no, so we automated everything, brought in more donations, and recruited people nationwide to sew port pillows.
The Power of Asking for Help
D: That’s so fast.
RM: We wanted to keep up with demand. The biggest lesson I learned was asking for help. I’m someone who believes I can do anything, but the minute I asked, my community showed up—bringing products, donors, and volunteers. It’s amazing.
D: I believe sometimes you’re pushed in a certain direction. If it’s meant for you, doors open. If not, they close.
RM: I know the date because it was my grandmother’s birthday. She passed years ago, so if all this happens on her birthday, that’s a big shove telling me to go do this.
How to Get a Chemo Care Kit
D: I saw on your website you have a waitlist for kits.
RM: Yes, because we’re constantly getting new inventory. It takes a couple of days to get it settled. Then we know how much we have and open up. We move the waitlist on a rolling basis.
D: I’ll add the link in the description so people can find you. I hope your organization keeps growing. At Penji, we want to help spread the word.
Advice for Aspiring Nonprofit Founders
D: Most of our listeners are aspiring entrepreneurs or starting businesses, including nonprofits. For anyone thinking of nonprofit work but unsure about the pay, emotional toll, or how to do it—what would you say?
RM: At Beyond Basic Needs, we’re all volunteers. I can do that because I run my own marketing company. If you have an idea, there will never be a perfect time or set of conditions. Start small and grow. Why not start now? The only thing stopping you is you.
Call for Volunteers and Donations
D: Are you looking for volunteers?
RM: We need help in every capacity. If you sew, we need port pillows. If you have extra fabric, we’ll take it. If you can donate products for chemo patients—ginger chews, comfy socks—let’s talk. And of course, we need donations to cover shipping, which is $7–$8 per kit.
D: I’ll add your website link and anything else you want. Guys, you heard her—go help out. Rachel, it was great having you on today’s episode.
RM: Thank you so much. I’m grateful for your time.
D: I’m grateful for yours. Everybody else, I will see you on the next episode. Bye-bye.
https://rachelminion.com/meet-the-brands
About the author
Table of Contents
- Explaining a Meme to a Victorian Child
- Introducing the Guest
- Beyond Basic Needs: Mission and Impact
- The Shocking Diagnosis
- Processing the News
- A Happy Ending and a Mission
- Helping Patients and Families
- Finding Peace in the Process
- From Patient to Nonprofit Founder
- The Power of Asking for Help
- How to Get a Chemo Care Kit
- Advice for Aspiring Nonprofit Founders
- Call for Volunteers and Donations
