Your mission is deeply personal. What inspired you to create the app and use lemons?

In my early 20s, I lost both my grandmothers and a close friend to breast cancer, which made me look for information about the disease. As a graphic designer, I knew I could improve the educational materials available by creating something more effective.

That’s where the lemons come in. I was searching for a universal symbol and discovered that lemons have features like nipples and pores, like a breast. The idea was perfected when a radiologist explained that a cancerous lump is usually hard, like a lemon seed. It gave us a simple, friendly, and visually clear way to talk about a scary topic and explain the 12 signs of breast cancer so that everyone can understand.

How has Know Your Lemons helped cultural conversations around breast cancer?

Our mission is to start conversations. We found that it’s easier to say, “Hey, have you seen these lemons?” than, “Do you know the symptoms of breast cancer?” Our app opens the door to these crucial, life-saving discussions.

For example, a woman in an African village with breast cancer had been ostracized because her community thought she was cursed. One day, she saw one of our volunteers giving a talk using our visuals and recognized her own condition. Not only did we help get her into treatment, but our team returned to her village to teach everyone that cancer is a disease, not a curse.

We also heard of a boyfriend who found our visual of the 12 signs of breast cancer on social media and showed it to his girlfriend. Weeks later, she noticed a lump and, remembering the visual, pushed her doctors for a check-up. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and started treatment—all because her boyfriend found our posts.

How does your app and the ‘Lemonistas’ work together to spread awareness?

To spread our mission, we use a two-part approach that combines powerful technology with a human touch.

First, the Know Your Lemons app acts as a complete guide in your pocket. It has our visual self-exam guide that makes finding a lump easier. To bring that education to life, we have over 1,200 trained volunteers called “Lemonistas”. They go into their communities to teach hands-on classes using digital presentations and physical props, like a model of a lemon with a lump inside. Our partners in Tanzania, for example, have seen women come to their clinic at stage one or two instead of stage four. They estimate that 12 lives were saved in 18 months, which shows how our tools in the hands of passionate volunteers can make a life-saving difference.

How has being on Google Play helped your mission?

It’s really about making this accessible to people. One of the best reviews we ever got started as a one-star review. A user couldn’t sign in because of a bug. We fixed it and replied to her comment on the Play Store. A couple of months later, she changed her review to five stars because our app had helped her find her breast cancer. She said the way we explained the self-exam made all the difference. That ability to connect directly with users on the Play Store is so important; without it, she might not have found it until it was too late.

The app is always evolving. What is next for Know Your Lemons?

We recently added a feature for companies to offer a breast health benefit to their employees, which helps them get on the right screening plan and connects them to resources like genetic counseling. The next big feature we’re adding is an AI-powered matchmaking tool for newly diagnosed patients. It will connect them with patient advocacy organizations that are specific to their needs—whether it’s a certain type of breast cancer or support for parents with young children. Most patients don’t know these resources exist, so we bring the help directly to them. Discover other inspiring app and game founders featured in #WeArePlay.