I found a large lump nursing my newborn son in the hospital. I was thirty-four years old with no family history of breast cancer, so I didn't think anything of it and wasn't concerned. However, six months later, I was asked to have four back-to-back "emergency biopsies" at my… Continue reading
In 2018, Sharsheret Program Participant Deedee Bitran wrote about her emotional journey using IVF to prevent passing on the BRCA gene mutation to her future children. Here is the next part of her story. Our surrogacy journey certainly did not go as planned. Surrogacy can be… Continue reading
In February 2022, Mishe Bear LLC, a company that creates teddy bears which are as meaningful as they are snuggly, launched a campaign to raise awareness about Sharsheret on Pink Day. The name “Mishe Bear” comes from the Jewish prayer “Mi Sheberach,” a prayer for… Continue reading
Knowing your risk is the best way to protect yourself and your family Each year, more than 250,000 women and about 2,300 men in the United States learn that they have breast cancer, and nearly 20,000 women find out that they have ovarian cancer. Most of these cancers occur by… Continue reading
August 2013 will never be forgotten. My oldest child was getting ready for freshman year of college, my baby was a sophomore in high school, and I found out I had ovarian cancer. To say we were all in shock was an understatement. As far as we knew, we had no family history… Continue reading
We were in full lockdown mode at the beginning of the pandemic. My then 2-year-old son was out of school and my husband, Ron, was working from home. I was breastfeeding my 8-month-old daughter and had been experiencing breast pain, unexplained fevers, night sweats, and… Continue reading
When Ann tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation after being diagnosed with breast cancer she knew there was a 50% chance she had passed along the mutation to her children. "As a parent you can't really change the genetics that you give your children but you can give… Continue reading
The cupboards of the kitchen are covered with multi-colored post-it notes, the sticky paper squares typically used for To-Do lists. They offer a different kind of reminder—a love story—not that we need any prompting to recall what Sloane and I have together. Colored Sharpies… Continue reading
When I first heard those words in 2009, “You have breast cancer,” I was stunned, overwhelmed, and numb. My family had no history of cancer, so how could this happen The uncertainty and deep anxiety caused by a cancer diagnosis can at times seem harder to bear than the… Continue reading
In 2012, I was visiting my daughter Lorrie’s home in Virginia. Lorrie is an RN and her colleague at the hospital (her gynecologist) suggested she get tested because of her Jewish roots, which put her at increased risk for having a BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation. It turns out… Continue reading
I will never forget the week I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. A close friend had put me in touch with a mutual camp friend who had experienced what I was experiencing several months before. I remember vividly how my mind was racing with all sorts of unanswered… Continue reading
News broke in mid-January that Chris Evert, a top professional tennis player in the 1970’s and 1980’s, had been diagnosed with Stage 1 ovarian cancer. At first glance, this is very sad news. However, in reading the story’s details, it becomes clear that Chris is… Continue reading
I was born a Yankee fan. My father was raised in the South Bronx, a son of penniless Jewish immigrants who had fled Czarist Russia, too poor to buy a ticket to Yankee Stadium. He and his pals watched the games from the roof of his apartment building. He grew up to be a… Continue reading
Social Support. Oncology Exercise. Each, on its own, is so powerful and necessary after a cancer diagnosis. Put them together, and … Wow! It’s a powerful combination. I’ve been working on marrying social support and fitness for almost five years, since my… Continue reading
It’s that time of year when GIFTS are high on our minds. One of my favorite – and amusing – lines from all of my cancer-girl books is about gifts. In Five Lessons I Didn’t Learn From Breast Cancer (And One Big One I Did), Shelly Lewis wisely writes, “Cancer is not a… Continue reading
October ended six weeks ago, and it flooded me with relief. That might seem like a strange thing to say about such an innocuous month, one filled with foliage and candy corn. Let me explain. In October 2017, I participated in a "Boxing for Boobies" event organized by a… Continue reading
In 2009, I was sure my BRCA test would be positive. I was Ashkenazi. I had ovarian and uterine cancer. I’d grown up hearing about great aunts with unspeakable disease. But BRCA wasn’t my issue. It took years before I knew what was. In 2021, after another bout of cancer,… Continue reading
I was 33 years old, had a 13-month-old son and was 33 weeks pregnant with my daughter. That’s when I found the lump. Triple negative breast cancer. BRCA1 positive. Inherited from my father. When the doctors told me it was cancer, I was in a state of shock. I could… Continue reading
November is Men’s Health Awareness Month, and I hope that sharing my BRCA journey will help others, especially men. BRCA, known as the “breast cancer gene,” became a household term for our family in 2018 when I completed a “direct to consumer” genetic test -- largely… Continue reading
This message appeared in the special edition of The Jewish Federations National Women’s Philanthropy (NWP) newsletter It is with great honor that I write this D’var Torah. The women of Federation and National Women's Philanthropy are some of the strongest, most… Continue reading
