At the age of 47, I learned I have the BRCA1 genetic mutation. It was a complete fluke that I found out about my high-risk status. Even though my father’s family history of cancer includes breast (his mom), prostate (his dad), and melanoma (his aunt), it wasn’t until he… Continue reading →

For Mrs. Bloomberg, Math Coordinator and 5th grade math teacher at Academies at GBDS, what started as a small fundraiser has, over time, grown into her passion project. Six years ago when Ellen Bloomberg began working at Academies at GBDS, the Head of School at the time… Continue reading →

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 →

Thank you for attending our genetics webinar.  Below are questions that were submitted before and during the webinar.  Some questions were similar, so I grouped them together and made a common answer. I have answered to the best of my ability for typical situations, but please… Continue reading →

12 months ago, I could never have imagined what this year would have in store for me. You probably feel the same about your year.  Well, one year ago, I was attending a Sharsheret fundraiser as a donor to the cause. It was that event that pushed me to schedule the… Continue reading →

Life was already hard. The pandemic made sure of that. In addition to losing my job, I was displaced from my home, my friends, and from most things in life that brought me joy. But I had my family. More specifically, I had my mother. A pillar of support, security, and… Continue reading →

I first learned about Sharsheret in 2007 when I became a sister of the Mu Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. Sharsheret had already been one of Alpha Epsilon Phi's national philanthropies, so I knew what they did and why it was… Continue reading →

Who hasn’t been struggling with anxiety, control issues and isolation these past few months due to Covid-19 One might think I would be a pro in this type of situation after having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and again in 2012. As a cancer survivor, I know… Continue reading →

I thought I knew my breast cancer story.  I mean, who doesn’t know their own breast cancer story!  My story, as I knew it for eight years, was that at the age of 37, I shared with a friend that my breasts felt like they contained pebbles, so I had been proactively getting… Continue reading →