“We’ve Got This”: Three Words That Became a Lifeline

When I sat down to hear Jen Shubert's story, I knew we would be talking about cancer and the foundation she and her husband, Joel, had created. What I didn't realize was how much of their story would be about marriage, family, and the things we don't always think about when someone we love is fighting for their life.

Behind the Lili Cancer Foundation is a husband and wife who know firsthand what it feels like to have their entire world turned upside down. Instead of letting that experience define the rest of their lives, they found a way to use it to change the lives of others.

Jen was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during a time when the world was already filled with uncertainty. COVID had changed everything, including access to medical care, and the surgery she desperately needed kept getting delayed.

Imagine being told you have cancer, knowing something is happening inside your body, and being told you have to wait.

Jen was scared, she was frustrated, and she was angry. Her CA-125 level had reached 1,998, and what was initially identified as Stage 1B ovarian cancer would later be classified as Stage 2B. She was facing something no one can ever really prepare for, and every delay meant more time spent wondering what was happening inside her body.

There was a moment during that time that Jen shared with me, and I think it's one of the most powerful parts of her story. She was upset about another delay, and Joel, trying to calm his wife down, told her, "We've got this." Jen looked at him and said, "We?" And Joel responded, "Yes, you might get to go meet Jesus, and I'll be stuck here raising our three kids alone."

You can only imagine the emotions behind that conversation. The fear, the frustration, and the reality of what they were both facing. Joel wasn't trying to make light of what was happening to his wife. He was reminding her that she wasn't the only one who was scared. He was scared of losing her.

While Jen was trying to survive cancer, Joel was trying to imagine a life where he might have to raise their three children without her. Jen admitted that somewhere in the middle of fighting for her own life, she had lost pieces of herself. Cancer had taken so much from her emotionally, and looking back, she could see how deeply it had affected her family, too.

That conversation with Joel helped her recognize something important. This wasn't just her battle. It belonged to all of them. That realization says so much about the foundation they would eventually create.

Once you've experienced something like that, you understand that the needs don't end with medical appointments and treatments. Sometimes a family needs someone to listen. Sometimes a husband needs someone to tell him it's okay to be scared. Sometimes a woman who's spent months fighting for her life needs help finding herself again.

Jen and Joel understood those things because they had lived them.

Through their church, they eventually met a woman named Lilliana, who was facing her third recurrence of ovarian cancer. Their connection with her led to conversations about creating something that could help other women and families going through the same frightening experience. They didn't just talk about wanting to help. They decided to do something.

Jen shared that there was a real urgency to getting this foundation started. They wanted Lilliana to see what they were building and be part of something that could help other families. "The longer we wait, the less she will see."

At that point, it wasn't about waiting until they had the perfect plan, enough money, or everything figured out. It was about a woman they cared about and the understanding that time isn't something any of us are promised. They wanted her to see that her life and her story mattered. That something meaningful could grow from the conversations they'd shared. And when it came time to give the foundation a name, they chose Lili, a tribute to the woman who helped inspire it all.

In March 2023, Jen and Joel founded the Lili Cancer Foundation in Lewiston, Idaho.

What began as a deeply personal mission has grown into an incredible source of support for women and families throughout the Lewis-Clark Valley and surrounding communities.

Since opening its doors, the foundation has supported more than 350 women through their cancer journeys. And when you include the husbands, children, and caregivers standing beside them, that number grows to more than 1,500 people. They've delivered over 8,000 services, providing support that goes far beyond what happens inside a doctor's office.

The foundation provides nutritional support, wellness programs, emotional and spiritual counseling, family and caregiver resources, and preventive health education. Their approach is about caring for the whole person and recognizing that a cancer diagnosis can affect nearly every part of someone's life.

Sometimes that support looks like a meal on the table when someone is too exhausted to cook. Sometimes it's a woman walking into a room full of strangers and realizing she's surrounded by people who understand exactly what she's going through. Sometimes it's a husband finding other men who know what it feels like to watch someone they love fight cancer.

Through programs like Flight Nights, Men's Club, wellness activities, and their weekly food pantry, the foundation is creating those connections and helping families find a little comfort during an incredibly difficult time.

Jen and Joel know what it's like to feel scared and overwhelmed. They know how much a diagnosis can change a family, and they understand that sometimes the smallest acts of kindness can make the biggest difference.

What started with two people wanting to make sure nobody felt alone has grown into a community where hundreds of families are finding exactly that. But these aren't just numbers.

They're women who walked through the doors looking for help and found people who understood. They're husbands who needed someone to talk to. They're children whose families have been given a little extra support during a time when everything feels uncertain. They're people who have found friendships, encouragement, and a place where they don't have to explain why they're having a hard day.

Jen remembers being the woman who was scared, angry, and waiting for answers. Joel remembers being the husband who couldn't fix what was happening to his wife, no matter how badly he wanted to. Now they're using those experiences to help people right here in our own community.

I walked away from Jen's story thinking about the families in our Valley who are hearing the word cancer for the first time. The moms trying to stay brave for their kids. The husbands and wives who cry when no one is looking. The people who are overwhelmed and don't even know what kind of help to ask for. I thought about how much it must mean to have someone like Jen or Joel standing beside you, knowing they understand because they've stood in that very same place.

Somewhere in our community, a family is facing the kind of news that once changed everything for them. A woman wondering how she's going to get through treatment. A husband wondering how he's going to keep his family together. Children trying to understand why life suddenly feels so different. Because of Jen and Joel, those families have one more place to turn.

I come back to those three little words Joel said to Jen during one of the scariest moments of their lives. "We've got this."

What started as a husband reassuring his wife has become something so much bigger. With the help of incredible volunteers, including Jen's mom, who has been such a blessing to the foundation, they've created a place where families can find the love and support they need when life feels overwhelming. Families who never imagined they'd need a place like Lili, but are so grateful it's there.

Jen and Joel couldn't change what their family went through. But they've taken that experience and turned it into something that is changing lives right here in our community. That is the most beautiful part is that those three little words are no longer just something Joel says to Jen.

They're something an entire community is now saying to the families who need to hear them most.

"We've got this. And you don't have to do it alone."