History
Breast Cancer and the Young Jewish Woman
Mission
Founder's Note
Staff
Advisory Boards
In Their Words

The following are excerpts from annual evaluations of Callers and Links participating in Sharsheret's Link Program.

"Sharsheret is an amazing organization which consistently reminds me of how wonderful it is to connect with someone – how good it feels to provide support – and how successful a few passionate and strong women can be."

"Sharsheret provides a very important service to the Jewish community at large. When a woman has no one to talk to or confide in, Sharsheret is there to provide a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, and a woman who has a shared experience to sympathize with. Keep up this great work!"

"Outstanding, professional, helpful - the first place to call when diagnosed!

"I deeply appreciated the frequent and regular follow-up through phone, mail, and e-mail contact. In a situation which can be very isolating, I found this contact comforting and extremely helpful."

"Sharsheret was the first positive encounter I had on the long road of breast cancer treatment. It allowed me a stress free way to find out what I truly needed to know."

"My initial contact was very important in helping me navigate the stormy waters I was just thrown into. It was very reassuring to talk to people who understood and could help."

"Through this, I have been blessed with wonderful friends and family for whom I thank     G-d daily. Yet no one has been able to still my anxiety like the people at Sharsheret who have been through this themselves."

"If corporate America operated with the same level of care, concern, timeliness, and quality, we would be a very prosperous country indeed!"

"I cannot thank you and everyone at Sharsheret enough for all the wonderful support you’ve provided me since my diagnosis last month. There has not been a week gone by that something special has not arrived, and usually at exactly the moment I needed it. My Links have been just terrific, too. Tomorrow is my first chemotherapy session, and I am facing it with far more confidence than I could have imagined before Sharsheret."

"Participating in Sharsheret has changed my life and opened me up to meeting some courageous and incredible women! I'm so thankful to Sharsheret."

"Sharsheret has been the missing link for me, a Jewish woman with breast cancer in the heart of the Midwest. Thank you Sharsheret for your great work, and thank you to all my ‘links’."

"Continue with your exceptional work of making women who face the challenge of breast cancer feel heard and cared for!"

Spotlight on Sharsheret Links:

Sharsheret Link Carol Mallison describes finding the right support at Sharsheret.

		Sharsheret has meant the world to me. Five years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 39 and was single and devastated. How could this happen to me? Who gets breast cancer at that age? At the time, I thought there were no other women who were survivors in my situation. A young Jewish breast cancer survivor who I had a chance meeting with at a lecture suggested that I call Sharsheret. I checked out the Sharsheret website and called almost immediately. The staff at Sharsheret were a wealth of information to me. Just like any other single Jewish woman my age, I wanted to know about working, dating, and having a family after
surviving breast cancer. Sharsheret connected me with several different Links who had gone through similar experiences. I was not alone in my experience anymore. Each of the Links I spoke with took their time and answered all my questions, whether it was about what they had experienced when they searched for a job or about the possibility of adopting a child. Knowing that each Link I had spoken with had been through a similar situation, had similar desires, and set goals they had actually achieved after breast cancer, gave me enormous hope. Now I could do the same thing. I would not only survive breast cancer, but strive for the goal of reaching my dreams.

By nature, I like helping people in whatever way I can, so it was a natural for me to become a Link for Sharsheret. I was delighted at the possibility of helping someone else, but I was a little nervous about whether I would be able to do it. Would I know the right things to say? Sharsheret’s Link Training Teleconference and training manual for Links put my mind at ease. Afterwards, I had several lovely conversations with single women who were undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Whether they were concerned about chemo, temporary hair loss, or radiation treatments, they could ask me what I had been through and amazingly it seemed to ease their worries. I found the experience of being a Link tremendously rewarding. It truly made my day each time someone said it made them feel better to have spoken with me.

The beauty of being a Link is that the person on the other end of the phone can feel free to express their mind freely, because the Link understands. The Links can never meet or they can become friends. I have had both experiences. One of my Links and I became friends, but whether or not that happens, it is still a really special experience.

Empower [a Sharsheret program for single Jewish women facing breast cancer] Teleconferences were amazing experiences to me as well. I found that sitting in the safe comfortable environment of my home, I could concentrate on informed/expert individuals who were speaking on issues such as, dating or other topics that were really important to me. It gave me the opportunity to take notes, formulate questions for further research, and use the knowledge that I gained. One of the great features of the teleconferences is that everyone can still read the transcripts later on at their leisure on the Sharsheret website.

The very best thing about Sharsheret is knowing there is always someone to turn to who will listen and who knows what you are going through because they, too, have gone through it. No young breast cancer survivor ever needs to feel alone no matter what turns life takes.

We welcome your feedback. Click here to let us know what Sharsheret means to you.

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