What’s Jewish about Breast and Ovarian Cancer?

On Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at 9:00 am, Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) will hold a free lecture titled, “What’s Jewish about Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer? Stay Informed for Yourself and Your Family.” The program will feature guest speakers Dr. Susan Klugman, Director of Clinical Services and Community Outreach for the Program for Jewish Genetic Health of Yeshiva University, and Rochelle L. Shoretz, Founder and Executive Director, Sharsheret.

Breast cancer affects 1 in 9 women in their lifetime and ovarian cancer affects 1 in 70. Approximately 10 percent of these cancers have a hereditary component. Scarsdale's Dr. Klugman will discuss the mutations in the specific genes and the increased risks for women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Ms. Shoretz will discuss the unique issues of Jewish women at risk of developing or diagnosed with breast cancer and the culturally-relevant support programs Sharsheret has developed to meet their needs.

This free, educational program is open to the community and co-sponsored by WRT’s Caring Community, Sharsheret and Yeshiva University’s Program for Jewish Genetic Health. A light breakfast with cancer-fighting foods will be served. Dr. Klugman is the Director of Reproductive Genetics at Montefiore Medical Center and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She received her bachelor of science degree with honors from Cornell University and her medical degree from New York University, before completing residencies in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Genetics at Einstein and Montefiore Medical Center. In 1993, she founded the Larchmont Women’s Center, a faculty practice office.

Ms. Shoretz, a two-time breast cancer survivor, founded Sharsheret to connect young Jewish women fighting breast cancer following her own diagnosis at age 28. She is a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women. A Centennial Scholar graduate of Barnard College and a Kent Scholar graduate of Columbia Law School, Ms. Shoretz served as a law clerk in 1999 to United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

RSVP is requested, but not required, to CaringCommunity@wrtemple.org. Westchester Reform Temple is located at 255 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale, NY.