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.