This is heartbreaking. Rochelle Shoretz, the Jewish founder of Sharsheret, has died at 42 from complications associated with breast cancer. Shoretz founded Sharsheret as a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish woman suffering from breast and ovarian cancers after her initial diagnosis at age 28.
According to JTA, Jewish women of Ashkenazi descent are at an increased risk for genetic mutations that can lead to cancer–which is what makes organizations like Sharsheret, and the people who run them, so very important.
Rochelle was also a contributor to Kveller. Read her beautiful piece, entitled “Mom, Lawyer, Jewish Breast Cancer Crusader,” here.
May her memory be for a blessing.
