When the path forward feels tangled with fear or uncertainty, Silver Threads is here to walk alongside you. We offer Southeast Asian women the culturally grounded support and clear, trustworthy information they need to face breast cancer with hope and confidence.
Maychy Vu, Founder
Meet the Founder
Maychy Vu is the founder of Silver Threads, a healing-centered space for Southeast Asian women, caregivers, and community members looking for culturally grounded wellness, storytelling, and connection.
Maychy was born in Vientiane, Laos, during the Secret War and later arrived with her family in the small town of Webster, South Dakota. Growing up between two cultures shaped much of who she is today. From an early age, she learned how to adapt to new surroundings, listen to others, and understand the importance of carrying stories and traditions forward.
For more than 20 years, Maychy worked in Minnesota’s pre-K–12 education and nonprofit communities. She co-founded a public charter school and helped grow it from a K–8 program into a full pre-K–12 institution. Much of her work focused on building strong relationships, creating supportive systems, and developing programs that reflected the experiences and needs of Hmong and Southeast Asian families.
In 2019, Maychy’s own life took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment included trial medication, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Like many cancer journeys, it brought fear, uncertainty, exhaustion, and moments of reflection. It also changed the way she understood herself, her community, and what it means to heal.
That experience became the beginning of Silver Threads.
Today, Maychy brings together her personal experience, cultural roots, and years of leadership to create spaces centered on storytelling, wellness, and community. Through the Silver Threads podcast, workshops, retreats, and future facilitator training, she hopes to give Hmong and other Southeast Asian women a place to slow down, share their experiences, feel understood, and connect with others who may have walked a similar path.
At the heart of her work is a simple belief:
Healing is not a destination. It is a thread we weave back to ourselves, one story at a time.
Maychy Vu, Founder
Our Mission
Silver Threads is a healing‑centered, survivor‑led initiative that weaves the stories, strength, and cultural wisdom of AAPI women impacted by breast cancer, creating spaces of belonging, resilience, and collective care.
Our Work
At Silver Threads, we believe healing from breast cancer is about more than medical care. It is also about culture, identity, family, and community. We provide a
survivor-led space for Hmong, Southeast Asian, and immigrant women to feel understood, supported, and connected throughout their journey.
Our work is grounded in the traditions and experiences we share. We bring together cultural wisdom, personal stories, and practical support to create a place where our heritage is respected and celebrated as part of the healing process. Through storytelling, cultural traditions, and community, we create space for women to heal in ways that feel meaningful to them.
Each of us carries a story shaped by challenges, but we believe strength comes from coming together. Like individual threads woven into something stronger, our experiences connect us. At Silver Threads, we come together to share our stories, support one another, and find strength in our community as we move forward.
Threads of Cultures.
Strands of Strengths.
Our Approach
Silver Threads is designed around four program objectives that respond to the emotional, cultural, and practical needs of Southeast Asian women affected by cancer. Each objective works across three connected levels: individual well-being, community connection, and improvement of the systems surrounding survivors. Together, these objectives will reduce isolation, increase access to culturally and linguistically appropriate information, strengthen cancer prevention and survivorship knowledge, and prepare survivors to advocate for themselves and others.
4 Program Objectives
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Survivors gain emotional safety, voice, and confidence. Trauma-informed activities help reduce stress and supportlng-term well-being.
Survivors connect with peers, share their cancer journeys, and learn from one another in a culturally familiar and non-clinical setting. These relationships reduce isolation and strengthen trust and belonging.
Survivor experiences help identify gaps in culturally responsive care. The safe space also becomes a foundation for survivor-led education and advocacy.
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Women receive cancer and survivorship information in ways that reflect their language, culture, and lived experiences. They gain confidence navigating services that may have previously felt unfamiliar or inaccessible.
A program designed with Southeast Asian women helps participants feel represented, understood, and comfortable asking questions. It reduces the cultural isolation that may occur in mainstream cancer programs.
Silver Threads helps fill gaps that traditional cancer programs may not address. It also offers a practical model for culturally responsive cancer prevention and survivorship support in Minnesota.
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Survivors learn that they do not have to face cancer alone. Reduced fear and shame can support earlier help-seeking, screening, follow-up care, and preventive health practices.
Peer relationships create belonging and make it safer to discuss cancer. Survivors can encourage one another to complete screenings, attend follow-up appointments, and continue wellness practices.
Survivor stories provide important information about how stigma, prejudice, and cultural silence can delay care. These insights can help health care and public health partners improve communication and services.
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Survivors gain knowledge about prevention, recurrence, secondary cancers, long-term effects, and available resources. They learn how to prepare for appointments, ask questions, navigate services, and advocate across the cancer care spectrum.
Participants share knowledge and resources with their families and peers, increasing the community’s ability to understand cancer, support prevention, and connect people to care. Survivors also become trusted advocates within their communities.
The program identifies barriers that make resources difficult to find or use. It strengthens connections between survivors, community organizations, public health partners, and health care systems so that services are more accessible and responsive. A connection to support groups and community resources will be available in partnership with Community Health Workers.
Our Partners
We appreciate the partners who recognize the importance of our work. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Want to get involved? Contact us!
Upcoming Events
More events coming soon.
Testimonials
“We need more restorative workshops on chronic health conditions especially for Hmong/asian woman.”
“The panel was wonderful and inspiring. The cancer survivors are so strong and honest and willing to share their heartbreaking and powerful stories.”
“The retreat was beautifully executed. Every element was intentional and thoughtful.”
Your Questions, Answered
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Silver Threads is a healing-centered, culturally grounded space created to honor Hmong and other Southeast Asian stories. We weave together ceremony, community care, and storytelling to help individuals reconnect with identity, resilience and belonging.
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Our space welcomes anyone seeking gentle community, cultural connection, or emotional healing. Many of our participants are Southeast Asian women, caregivers, survivors, and community leaders – but all who come with respect and openness are invited.
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We offer a range of healing and community experiences, including:
Storytelling Circles
Cultural healing workshops
Retreats and community gatherings
Speaking engagements on Hmong and Southeast Asian health issues
The Silver Threads podcast uplifting Southeast Asian voices
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You can attend events, share our work, invite us to collaborate, or contribute financially. Every form of support helps us expand healing spaces for our Southeast communities.
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Join our mailing list, follow our podcast, or connect with us on social media for upcoming events, stories, and announcements.
Speak With a Sister
Whether you have questions about a new diagnosis, need help finding a screening, or simply need someone to talk to who understands our culture, Silver Threads is here. Reach out to us with a heavy heart or a simple question. We respond with care, privacy, and the warmth of a community that understands.
