Community
This June marks my first month as a 50 year old breast cancer survivor! Pride month holds a special place in my heart as I’ve spent the past thirty years both personally and professionally working for and supporting the LGBTQ community.
While my focus was very much on media, a huge part of that meant supporting and elevating the nonprofits that provide critical services for those of us in our community in need: The Trevor Project for LGBTQ youth and their ever important 1-800-number, The LA Gay and Lesbian Center, The TransLatin@ Coalition and more.
When I was diagnosed in January of 2025 with triple positive cancer, little did I know there was a nonprofit out there that would provide me with critical services for what I needed.
My initial entry into this new community was a bit rocky. My HMO approval process was brutal – hours spent on the phone with no answers, months where no appointments were available. Fighting for care when I just wanted treatment.
Sometime in February someone from my synagogue mentioned Sharsheret. I just added it to my never-ending call list of trying to move my care forward the following week.
I will never forget the warmth of my Sharsheret Social Worker on the other line. I think we spoke for more than an hour. To say it gave me hope was an understatement. Finally I was talking to someone from my community who got it. “Can I send you a care box?” YES! “Would you like some things to help you with surgery?” Yes! “We also have some things to help you through chemo.” REALLY! And then, the absolute game changer in my treatment, “we have a grant to help you with cold capping.” Tears. You do?
The notes that started coming, the check-ins, the blankets, the drain holders, the fanny pack with anti-nausea candies, the makeup to draw in my eyebrows…and the grant for the ability to keep trying and keep (some) of my hair during chemotherapy. The way this community showed up for me…game changer.
This past March, two months after I finished treatment, I participated in the Sharsheret West Pickleball Tournament. I started PT after chemo, kept moving during radiation and have been lifting weights now per my doctor’s orders. But I hadn’t gone back to pickleball, a pandemic sport that I excelled in so much so I became a certified instructor. I showed up and was partnered with a woman who actually went to my high school, which felt great. She too hadn’t played since the end of radiation…our goal was to just be present and have fun.
It was an amazing day, but the part of the day that brought tears to my eyes or that really mattered was the station they had set up to write a card to someone who had just been diagnosed, a card of support. I remember opening that first package and reading that card, knowing it came from another survivor. What a gift to be on the other side now and able to give back.
Thank you Sharsheret. I’m honored to be part of this community.