Being diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant was shocking and isolating. Sharsheret made sure I didn’t go through it alone

Being diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant was shocking and isolating. Sharsheret made sure I didn’t go through it alone

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 not process what was happening and feared for the implications on my unborn child. My Sharsheret social worker helped me make sense of it all.

I was advised to only carry to 37 weeks. We named our baby girl Lyla Orly, the light during our night. 

Three weeks after giving birth, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. Cancer treatment deprived me of invaluable bonding time with my newborn daughter. It pained me greatly that I was unable to nurse Lyla.

The experience changed absolutely everything. I spent so much time getting through the cancer, I didn’t think about how I would move forward afterwards. 

Two years later, Sharsheret continues to be a critical part of my healing. Sharsheret provides me with a community of women just like me, struggling with the same fears and problems I still grapple with daily. 

As a woman who is BRCA positive, before the age of 38, I will surgically remove my ovaries to lower my risk of ovarian cancer. It is an emotionally fraught surgery for me as I face premature menopause. Sharsheret is my safe space to talk through this next chapter. With Sharsheret, I know I am not doing this alone.

Please join me in making your year-end donation, and ensure that I, and thousands of women just like me, have Sharsheret to lean on when we need it most. 

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