Providing support and encouragement to those touched by cancer.
One Tough Cookie, based in Stamford, CT, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a simple yet powerful mission: to create moments where, even for a short time, cancer doesn’t exist and is replaced with hope and joy.
Through heartfelt care packages, uplifting events, and our Pick-Me-Up Corner—filled with affirmations, eBooks, music, games, and more—we aim to bring light and positivity into your journey. Whether you’re beginning treatment, preparing to start, or supporting someone as a caregiver or nurse, we are here to walk alongside you, offering compassion, love, and a mental escape when it’s needed most.
Most importantly we are here to remind you that CANCER SUCKS but it doesn’t have to make you crumble!
The Heart Behind OTC
"Marie Thank you. Thank you for the signed (first hard copy :) of the book. Thank you for being so f'ing vulnerable in your chapter. The imagery and messages you beautifully laid out were all extremely powerful. Thank you."
~ Izzy M
"Latinas Rising" (BestSeller) — an incredible anthology of stories from women who’ve walked through fire and came out transformed.
In my chapter ("The Weight of Silence"), I open up about what it was like growing up as a Latina in the Bronx—where dreams were big, but so were the limitations people put on us.
I talk about what it meant to be a good daughter, a good wife, a good mom—and how all of those titles came with their own invisible scripts.
And then there was cancer.
A diagnosis that ripped away the “normal” I thought I was supposed to have.
That peeled away every layer I thought made me “me.”
And left me with the one question none of us can avoid:
Who am I, really?
Join us!
Whether it's sponsoring a Tough Cookie, volunteering to help pack bags or spreading the word by following us on our social media, to name a few, your involvement is what helps us create a strong encouraging community and gets us closer to expanding our reach.
If all we do is change one person's life, then we have done a lot.
With Gratitude and Thanks To:
