Mom has cancer, ovarian cancer.

Technically, she’s my mother-in-law but we’ve never been big on the in-law title. Miki doesn’t come with all of the cliche baggage. The truth is that she’s all sorts of awesome. I often wonder how I lucked out with such a great guy AND great mother-in-law. She’s not only my husband’s mom—she’s my mentor, my friend, my mom.

You could cut the tension in the air. Today is her first day of chemo. The first of many, many treatments over the next five months. What does one do while your mom’s getting chemo? Well, being a designer, it made me think about logos—cancer logos.

I’ll start with the big gun. The American Cancer Society researches, reports, and provides support for just about every cancer out there. A patriotic logo set in red, white and blue with a caduceus sitting solidly to the left creating a sense of confident guidance. It’s a logo that’s clean and straight forward. One might even venture to say that it’s a little cold for the subject matter. Although, they are an organization that’s rooted in hardcore research.

Another big one is Susan G. Komen for the Cure. An organization that raises extensive funds for breast cancer research. The sans serif typography is modern yet soft enough to remain humanistic. The all too ribbon icon has a slight modification of the dot on top mimicking a human silhouette which adds a unique factor to a well used symbol.

The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation’s mission is to “support research, education and public awareness of gynecologic cancer prevention, early detection and optimal treatment.” The logo is about as generic as the mission statement. Don’t get me wrong, they do vital and amazing work that I have the utmost respect for. Unfortunately, from a graphic standpoint the logo leaves much to be desired.

Ovations is dedicated to the pursuit for a cure for ovarian cancer through funding of new and ongoing research and treatment initiatives, increasing awareness of the subtle signs and symptoms of the disease and give hope, education and comfort to those currently battling ovarian cancer. The subtle scaling of the O and S create the illusion of them hugging the tagline giving it a very humanistic feel. The butterfly icon nicely balances the typography and is an image of hope and metamorphosis.

The High Heals Foundation’s mission is to “raise funds to develop methods for early diagnosis of Ovarian cancer and aid in the discovery of a cure through research, advocacy and education.” Although I don’t wear heals, I do think this lockup is fantastic. What’s more go-go-girl power than a patent leather spike heal paired with lipstick red? It’s fun, accessible and dares you to be courageous.

There’s countless logos out there that range the spectrum from all medical business to bleeding heart humanitarians.

All-in-all I’d have to say that Team Miki takes the cake when it comes to cancer taglines. The official logo is still in the works (that is, as soon as I design one) but you gotta LOVE this tagline:

We put the balls into fighting ovarian cancer.

That’s what happens when your mother-in-law’s circle of friends are all knee deep into Marketing. She definitely puts the balls into fighting cancer though. Miki is a tough woman and logo or not she’s fighting cancer with style.