Scott was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on a Friday afternoon in November of 2004, kicking off one of the worst weekends of his life as he and his family dealt with the shock of the diagnosis. Today, as a pancreatic cancer survivor and patient advocate, Scott works to bring… Continue reading
After my BRCA test came back negative in 2010, I wrote a Sharsheret blog about my relief and volunteered to be a Sharsheret peer supporter for those deciding about genetic testing. My mom died of breast cancer in 1994, about six months before the BRCA test was released. She was… Continue reading
My husband Jaryd and I spent the last four years creating our family. I was so excited to return to life without being pregnant after having three children under the age of 4. I was at the very end of my maternity leave and had gone for a mammogram on a Thursday, knowing… Continue reading
Knowing my Jewish ancestry saved my life. I happened to take an at-home genetic test and found out that in addition to being approximately 52% African American, I had Ashkenazi Jewish DNA. Several months later, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer the knowledge I had… Continue reading
I am a mother, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a partner and now a patient. This is my story... On November 26th 2019, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Cancer (IDC Breast Cancer). By December 5th I got the worst possible upgrade to Stage 4 Metastatic Breast… Continue reading
It was a typical summer night in June 2019 with my daughters, age 7 and 10 at the time, brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. I reached down to scratch the top part of my left breast and felt a lump. It felt like a small marble and hurt a bit to the touch, but I… Continue reading
To make a long story short….Once upon a time, there lived a man called Mordechai, who lived with his niece Esther. Well, we’re not sure if she was his niece. Maybe she was his wife... or sister. The point is they were related somehow. In the same town, there was a king named… Continue reading
My mom and I have always been close. I am her only child and she raised me as a single parent. In 2007 when she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer at age 48, I was devastated. Her doctors’ first recommendation was to do genetic testing for the BRCA gene mutation,… Continue reading
Nine years ago, I met Mari Guzman when our sons started preschool in the same class. I met Jennifer Dresser five years ago when our daughters started kindergarten together. We have become friends through our children and have many shared experiences, including our diagnoses of… Continue reading
I turned 40 in April of 2020. I scheduled my first annual mammogram for June, figuring I would check it off my to-do list and I’d be good to go for a year. Never did I imagine that two months later I would end up losing both my breasts to a mastectomy. The initial scans… Continue reading
