World Cancer Day: Why it matters so much to Millennia TEA
By: Tracy Bell, Co-Founder + CEO
Ahead of #WorldCancerDay on February 4, we wanted to share where Millennia TEA’s story began. Every company has a “why” and ours unfortunately began with cancer. As a way to begin honouring our own story and the story of so many members of our customer communi-TEA, we have partnered with the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation to support and enhance access to cancer care in our local hospital.
This World Cancer Day, ALL online proceeds until February 4 will be donated to support cancer care at our local hospital.
World Cancer Day matters to us as a small company because a cancer scare is the very reason we have a company today. It’s what started us down the path to learning about the powerful role antioxidants play in disease prevention, also in supporting patients and families during their treatment and recovery.
Tracy Bell , Co-Founder and CEO writes:
“We had a cancer diagnosis with a family member several years ago. We were lucky; the tumour was later found to be noncancerous. But I remember the feeling like it was yesterday. The world stops spinning when you get the news, and you race to find ways to help in what feels like a helpless and confusing black hole.
My husband Rory dove into the research. Antioxidants’ role in fighting free radical damage and naturally preventing and reversing disease kept coming up. He went deeper and learned there’s one antioxidant in particular that’s a really powerful ally in flighting free radical damage and protecting our cells from the cellular damage that leads to disease. It’s called EGCG, short for Epigallocatechin gallate, and it’s found naturally in tea leaves. With more investigation into the 450-plus clinical trials on tea and health – part of the more than 9,440 research reports on the subject in recent decades – we learned EGCg antioxidants are highest in ‘fresh-picked’ tea leaves and diminish with processing. When we couldn’t get ‘fresh tea’ we weren’t ok with that, and the idea for Millennia TEA was born.
This World Cancer Day, ALL online proceeds until February 4 will be donated to support cancer care at our local hospital.
World Cancer Day matters to us as a small company because a cancer scare is the very reason we have a company today. It’s what started us down the path to learning about the powerful role antioxidants play in disease prevention, also in supporting patients and families during their treatment and recovery.
Tracy Bell , Co-Founder and CEO writes:
“We had a cancer diagnosis with a family member several years ago. We were lucky; the tumour was later found to be noncancerous. But I remember the feeling like it was yesterday. The world stops spinning when you get the news, and you race to find ways to help in what feels like a helpless and confusing black hole.
My husband Rory dove into the research. Antioxidants’ role in fighting free radical damage and naturally preventing and reversing disease kept coming up. He went deeper and learned there’s one antioxidant in particular that’s a really powerful ally in flighting free radical damage and protecting our cells from the cellular damage that leads to disease. It’s called EGCG, short for Epigallocatechin gallate, and it’s found naturally in tea leaves. With more investigation into the 450-plus clinical trials on tea and health – part of the more than 9,440 research reports on the subject in recent decades – we learned EGCg antioxidants are highest in ‘fresh-picked’ tea leaves and diminish with processing. When we couldn’t get ‘fresh tea’ we weren’t ok with that, and the idea for Millennia TEA was born.
We spent the better part of the three years that followed on the science of tea – travelling the world over to discover the geographies and growing conditions that promote the best plants, finding the farmers that would put the same level of care into their gardens as we wanted to provide to our customers, and partnering with a world-class facility that could take our fresh tea leaves and transform them into our finished Supercubes.
Fast forward to present and we have patents in Canada and the US for ‘Maximizing EGCg antioxidants in tea leaves.’ We’re supporting people and families from coast to coast with our products. And we’re living into our mission of inspiring people to live longer, healthier, happier lives.”
We’ve all been touched by cancer in life-altering ways. We’ve had TEAm members who have felt the heartbreak and devastating loss brought about by this destructive disease, and we all have a part to play in bringing awareness to the importance of prevention, detection and treatment.
We’re grateful to the Saint John Hospital Foundation for the role they play in helping so many families in our communities, and we’re appreciative for the chance to get to support their efforts in some small way. #ClosetheCareGap
We care deeply about the people in our communiTEA, locally and across the country.
Meet our friend, Carmie Scaplen, 3 time cancer fighter. This story is one of many we hear weekly from customers across Canada. This is our “why.”
