Sharsheret Celebrates First Anniversary of Service To Young Jewish Women Fighting Breast Cancer

Sharsheret Celebrates First Anniversary of Service To Young Jewish Women Fighting Breast Cancer

Hackensack, New Jersey (January 3, 2003)— Sharsheret, a national not-for-profit organization of cancer survivors dedicated to addressing the unique concerns of young Jewish women facing breast cancer, recently celebrated its first anniversary. The organization will mark the event at a celebration honoring its volunteers on February 25, 2003.

Sharsheret’s Link Program connects young women with others who share similar diagnoses and experiences, comforting and supporting young women newly diagnosed, and empowering those breast cancer survivors who have volunteered to serve as peer supporters. In its first year, Sharsheret received over 1,200 phone calls from young women affected by breast cancer, women’s organizations, health care professionals, and others from across the country. The organization hosted its first symposium at Weill Medical College of Cornell University with world-renowned experts on the subject of breast cancer and fertility in October 2002. That same month, more than 250 men, women, and children joined Team Sharsheret for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Central Park, New York City. Sharsheret will present its second symposium, “How Do We Care For Our Children? Issues for Women and Men Facing Breast Cancer,” at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on May 19, 2003.

Sharsheret was founded in December 2001 by Rochelle Shoretz, who served as a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28. It is the only national organization providing support and resources for young Jewish women of all backgrounds fighting breast cancer. The name Sharsheret, Hebrew for chain, was selected to symbolize the bond between women, united in experience and strengthened by one another as links in a chain.

For more information about Sharsheret, please contact Amy Mines Tadelis, Director of Outreach and Public Relations, at (973) 438-7800.