Breast Cancer Awareness Month: The
disease can strike at any age and in any situation in life.
Daniela found out she had aggressive cancer just three days after giving birth to her son, Lt. Col. (Res.) Moran Almog felt a breast exile during Operation Resilient Cliff and Hava Zingboim did not let the cancer stop her life.
Nine women who have had breast cancer tell what their message is to women, and why it is so important to get tested.
Mirit Greenberg
42, Ramat Hasharon
"Insist on checking," Photo: Daniel Kommi
"I had all kinds of different infections in my body, and did not know the reason for it. Only when I did a mammogram in June 2020 did the answer become clear that it was a rare type of breast cancer. The moment of discovery was very stressful because it felt like thunder on a clear day. "The head started to work and I started to find out more details like what tests need to be done and what treatments need to be undergone, and I knew I had to brave them. I finished the treatments last February and I have more surgery left."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"He strengthened my relationship with my husband and children. I learned a lot about myself, shared my difficulties and realized I was not perfect. I also realized that every difficulty in life is an opportunity for growth, and I learned what the important things in life are, like being more relaxed and listening to myself."
What is your message to women?
"Do not be complacent and listen to the body. If you think something is wrong and the doctor says everything is fine, insist on checking in depth, listen to intuition. If it turns out to be cancer, do not indulge in black bile, but try to find a way to learn and grow from the difficulty."
Daniela Shiber Golan
29, Jerusalem
"I found out at the end of the pregnancy", Photo: Noa Krief
"At the end of my pregnancy I felt a lump in my chest, did not push and went to a breast surgeon. It turned out to be an aggressive type of cancer that spreads quickly, and could easily be missed. I had an ultrasound and biopsy and the final diagnosis came three days after I gave birth to my son."
How did you feel?
"I told myself it could not be, I am a young girl, I have no genetic background and I am not in a risk group, I was in the market. Instead of today with my son at home, the diary is full of tests and I have to perform fertility preservation before starting treatment." "Technically, there are sad thoughts and fears that it will come back. The family members enlisted to help with the baby. I underwent chemotherapy, surgery of a partial resection and will soon have radiation. I am taking biological treatment and am in the recovery stages and hoping for the best."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"Yes, I look more inward. Recently I had the thought that there is not much awareness in the religious sector, and that I must raise awareness among young religious women, especially since they are a lot around breastfeeding and children. During the treatments I met two young religious patients like me "Tells about the disease and the importance of early detection. If in this way I can save a life, what good."
Yana South
39, Binyamina
Found solutions for sick women, Photo: Hadas Levy
"Ten years ago, during the third month of my pregnancy, I discovered a lump in my breast. Because I knew I was a carrier of the BRCA gene, the doctors did not take it easy. They operated on me and removed the tumor, which actually saved my life."
She underwent the chemotherapy, radiation and complete resection only after the birth.
"It was a risk to wait until the end of the pregnancy, but I was only interested in my child being fine. I was on automatic, for four months I was in aggressive treatments, and I could barely hold the girl who was just born to me. I got help from family, but as a mother it's a terrible feeling for your child to cry. "And you can not hold and reassure her. At that time there was not too much exposure to support groups as there is today on WhatsApp and Facebook, I felt quite alone."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"As a 28-year-old girl with a prosthesis, I was desperately looking for flattering lingerie to feel feminine and beautiful. Following the unsuccessful breast reconstruction, I opened a chain of fashion stores that cater to sick and recovering women. Today the chain has three branches across the country where Swimwear, fashionable scarves and clothing items that are suitable for women with breast cancer. I have brought solutions that exist abroad such as comfortable prostheses so that we can feel good about ourselves.
I have also set up a support group for pregnant women who are found to have breast cancer called ‘Beautiful and Brave’.
Is there a fear that the cancer will return?
"I do not live with the feeling of having defeated cancer. I know many women who have had it back, and I live in the shadow of fear. Every pain in my body lights up a red light, and runners check what the cause is. However, one should enjoy life and put fear aside."
What is your message to women?
"Do not wait for a crisis or illness to make changes and also do not postpone things. Do not say 'when I retire I will do so and so' or 'when the children grow up'. A lot of women plan and then the cancer catches them at an inappropriate timing. If you have a dream, get up and go realize it. .
Einat Shroff
58, Tel Aviv
"You have to enjoy life."
Einat Shroff, Photo: Efrat Eshel
"About four years ago, a secretary at the HMO called me to come for a mammogram, and I politely refused. The secretary insisted, so I agreed to come and two days later they said there was a finding and a biopsy should be done. "I finished the show and realized I needed to make a plan and treat an urgent cancer. Thank God, I went in for surgery, took out the little lump and did only one screening while having surgery and that's it."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"Because my father passed away at a young age, I always had in mind that life is short. The disease reminded me to enjoy it."
What is your message to women?
"Be tested. Do not postpone because there is no time, live life to the fullest. If God forbid you find out that you are sick, be the most practical and do everything to recover."
Hava Zingboim
55, Raanana
"I thought about what I provided."
Zingboim, Photo: Tal Abodi
"Ten years ago, I sat down in the morning with a cup of coffee and read in one of the newspapers about a new medical center that opened in Tel Aviv for early detection of various types of cancer, and I made an appointment. I realized that I needed to manage it properly in order to get out of it. "
How did you feel?
"My life is full of challenges, from a young age I grew up alone, so I did not feel that the sky fell. I told myself that it was good to hear my instincts, and that I had a challenging journey to go through. My husband Mutti was shocked, and I calmed everyone around me. To this day and what I marked V. I got married, I have six children and grandchildren, I lived life to the fullest, and every day from now on is a bonus. In general, death does not scare me, it is an integral part of life itself. I may not die of cancer either. "No one knows what to expect tomorrow."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"He didn't change anything, and I live the exact same life. In my head I kept telling myself that I had the strength to go through with it."
What is your message to women?
"Living happily every day. Living with the understanding that challenges are part of life, and cancer is another challenge. If there is something important to you, do it today without waiting. If you want to be a mother - do not wait, bring a child today. If there is someone you love "Tell him that. Live your life to perfection."
Lt. Col. (Res.) Moran Almog
47, Ness Ziona
"I entered a state of war", Photo: Private
"During a long sitting in the middle of Operation Resilient Cliff, I felt a marble in the breast. I did not feel any pain, so I did not think it was suspicious. But he said it was important to check in depth because I was already 40 years old. "
The results of the tests revealed that it was a cancer that was already seeping into the lymph nodes.
"The doctor explained that if I had waited a little longer, the cancer would have spread to all the lymph nodes and I would not be alive today. It took me a while to digest the gospel, but I told myself I was now at war like in the army. I went to war to win and not lose."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"Today I devour life. I travel and make sure to do everything I love. When I returned to the army after I recovered, I decided that since there is a lack of awareness of the issue in the IDF, I must do something about it.
"If I had been told more about the cancer during the service, I would have been tested earlier and I could have been spared a lot of suffering."
What is your message to women?
"If you are sick, it is important to choose the medical staff that is good for you with him, as well as to update the family and get reinforcements from them. Do not let the disease manage you. Tell yourself that you are doing everything to get out of it alive."
Oshrat Nadler
49, Rehovot
"I realized I was strong," Photo: Private
"My husband suspected that I had a lump in my breast and recommended I go for a test. I thought it was probably nothing, but for safety I went. On mammography I saw diffuse calcifications in the breast with touch to the lymph nodes, and I had to undergo a partial resection and then chemotherapy and radiation."
How did you respond to the news?
"I was shocked because I did not expect it. I have no genetic background and I do not smoke or drink, and also do sports and healthy eating activities. In addition, I am a very cowardly person, so even passing regular blood tests was a difficulty for me."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"Cancer did not change my life or my conduct. I did not let the treatments interfere with the course of my life that were active even before, and even during the treatments we celebrated our son's bar mitzvah. However, I learned to overcome the medical fears I had, I realized I was strong and strong. To deal with surgeries and also with the baldness that really scared me.
What is your message to women?
"My message is that you can live with the disease. Once you get sick, the right way to deal is to do whatever it takes to recover. Even if the treatments are not simple, keep in mind that the body is at war and it is a temporary condition. Regardless of the disease, I recommend all women enjoy everyday , And experience the little moments of happiness that do you good. "
Galia Dor
52, Raanana
The answer came on vacation, Photo: Private
Self-examination before the family flight to Thailand saved her life.
"It was two years ago, I felt an exile that bothered me. It was two days before a family trip to Thailand and my husband told me to check before the trip to be relaxed on vacation, and so I did. A breast surgeon sent me to do an ultrasound that day. "That day a biopsy. When we landed in Thailand, I received an answer that the lump was cancerous."
How did you feel?
"It's a feeling that you fall into a black hole and the next day you are going to die, and I was very scared of what would happen. Only after a while, when I was in the process, did I realize that breast cancer is not a death sentence if detected early and that there is life between treatments.
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"I accompany Sands and explain the process through all sorts of support and guidance channels through Facebook and Instagram. I tell them it will be a difficult year, but that they have come out of it healthy. If I had someone to explain to me that this is not the end of the world, I would save myself a lot of hysteria."
What is your message to women?
"Go get tested. If you just find out the disease, you will understand that it is not the end of the world. You can go on with life alongside the treatments."
Larissa Niktlov
48, Ramla
"Do not go through it alone", Photo: Private
"Nine years ago I discovered a lump. I work as a secretary in the oncology clinic at Ichilov Hospital, and I did not think it would happen. At first I did not tell anyone not to worry, but when the surgery stage came - I told the family."
Has Cancer Changed Your Life?
"After years of working around the clock, I suddenly stopped and thought about myself and the children. Since I spend more time, I focus on myself and I am not a slave of life anymore. I see it comes back in many women and I always keep my finger on the pulse. After I recovered, it was important I have to go back and continue working in the oncology department to help patients from my personal experience.
What is your message to women?
"Take care of yourself. Enjoy life, spend more time with the children and family because you do not know what will happen tomorrow. If you get sick, choose to share the relatives, do not be like me and do not go through it alone, it is difficult."
