I remember sitting in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as a child, watching the clock and counting how many pages of prayer were left in the service. I wanted to run out when the Rabbi began speaking. And the silent prayer – well, that just went on forever. “Oh… Continue reading →

Cancer is huge (enormous, actually). It’s an adventure I wish I never had to take, but I’m living it in real time. Slowly, slowly, reality has set in. I have a chronic illness - ovarian cancer - that began in my fallopian tubes. I’ll be on and off chemo for the rest of my… Continue reading →

 Erica Berthou13:37:01Deborah Greenstein14:29:14Joel Matalon15:15:01Congratulations to Team Sharsheret's first Ironman athletes, who took on an enormous challenge last weekend at the U.S. Ironman Championship NY/NJ. Our amazing athletes completed a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile… Continue reading →

Just returned from a 90th birthday celebration bike ride from Boston to Newport (Rochelle Shoretz's 40th and my 50th). The cycling group was organized by a friend, Richard Shuster, who has as large a personality as Rochelle's. It was not a charity ride. Instead, these annual… Continue reading →

Tammy Bryk, a beloved client and friend told me about Sharsheret, an organization supporting young Jewish women and their families of all backgrounds, facing breast cancer.  This year Sharsheret offered coveted spots for the first ever 2012 Ironman US Championship NY/NJ… Continue reading →

It is an absolute honor to be a part of Team Sharsheret.  Rochelle Shoretz is a former colleague, friend, and truly inspirational person.  Sharsheret’s selfless commitment to helping those in need is amazing and I couldn’t think of a better organization to race… Continue reading →

I am a granddaughter of a woman with breast-cancer, a friend of women with breast-cancer, a step-daughter of a woman who died from ovarian cancer, and a woman with her own history of biopsies and breast-cancer scares. Women's cancers have touched so many people in my life. … Continue reading →

My grandmother died in 1995 after a long battle with breast cancer.  In all of the years of her illness, I cannot recall her using the word "cancer".  She spoke of being "sick", "weak", "unwell", and she asked me, on her death bed, to remember her.  "Don't forget… Continue reading →

Just two more days until we hit the West Side Highway, the Hudson, and Central Park for the Aquaphor NYC Triathlon. Months of training, awareness-raising, and fundraising will culminate at the finish line. You’ve accomplished so much already – and our work together has only… Continue reading →

I never signed up for this…..and one of the major items on that list was cancer.   So you’d think—and  I certainly thought—if I was fortunate enough to survive, the last thing I’d want for the rest of my life was to have anything to do with cancer ever… Continue reading →

I’ve just returned from the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting – one of the largest cancer-related conferences organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.  It is my second ASCO Meeting and my fourth conference this year.  It had me thinking about the sheer number… Continue reading →

National Cancer Survivors Day, this Sunday, June 3rd, is the perfect time to join our new program, Thriving Again, for young breast cancer survivors with these 3 easy steps:Participate in an online discussion and provide your valuable input on the development of our new… Continue reading →

Every year on the holiday of Shavuot we celebrate receiving the Torah – a gift given to the Jewish people more than 3,000 years ago.  Most of us have been the recipients of kindness and generosity by virtue of our membership in the Jewish community and we, as a people,… Continue reading →

When I was 20, my parents came to see me unexpectedly at college. They told me that my mom had stage 2 breast cancer and was going to be having a mastectomy and chemotherapy in the coming months. I was scared for her and I was scared of losing her. My mom, my rock, was sick. She… Continue reading →

Oh dating! People say it's fun, but is it really The butterflies, bad dates, labels, unreturned phone calls. I would call it hard, to say the least. When you've tested positive for the BRCA gene at 24, dating is even more challenging. I kept asking myself, who would want to date… Continue reading →

On Monday, April 2nd 2012, I had the privilege of being asked to speak at a Sharsheret Supports Breast Cancer Symposium at the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service in Delray Beach, Florida.  This one of a kind program was co-sponsored by 10 large companies and organizations,… Continue reading →

In the Passover story, we learn that the Jewish people are told, from an authoritative and reliable source, that they are to leave Egypt immediately in order to save their lives. They quickly gather their families and belongings, including unleavened bread which had no time to… Continue reading →

Good Luck To Team Sharsheret Athletes Participating In Races This March!Dear Athletes,Tomorrow, two of you - our incredible athletes - will compete in the Jerusalem Marathon, marking Team Sharsheret’s participation for the first time in the Israel race.  This very same… Continue reading →

The past seven years since I was first diagnosed with breast cancer have been life changing for me and for my family. I am grateful for the wonderful medical and personal care I received. However, I can’t bear to think that my daughters and the mothers, daughters, and sisters… Continue reading →

Among my many identities, I am a Jew and I am a cancer survivor.  The intersection of these two roles inspired me to get involved with Sharsheret.Two summers ago, my routine pap smear showed misplaced and mysterious cells.  Follow-up biopsies and, ultimately a full… Continue reading →