I Come Here Once a Year to Remember…

Thirteen years ago this week I was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram. Out of the blue…no risks, no family history – ‘shocked’ is an understatement.

And suddenly I found myself in a world of illness, isolation and fear. Thank God, I had good care and support and I am fine all of these years later, now awaiting the birth of our first grandchildren. I cannot find the words to express my gratitude for this blessing and all of the others along the way.

In 2010/2011, in waiting rooms and hospitals, I noticed suffering that had been invisible to me before. 

  • I witnessed a woman at the breast center who was dirty and so foul-smelling that no one would sit near her. It turned out that she was sick and too poor to afford a washing machine, and her clothes reeked of vomit. 
  • I began to hear stories of single mothers, elderly women, young families…who were struggling with the extra, non-medical costs of having breast cancer. 
  • I saw women with Stage 4 cancer facing eviction and others foregoing treatment because they couldn’t afford the cost of extra childcare.

I saw how expensive it was to be sick, and I couldn’t imagine how the poor coped. Turns out they mostly cannot.  

The Israel Lemonade Fund was formed in my backyard with a small group of friends and neighbors in August 2011, on the anniversary of that fateful mammogram. We raised money, made a system to vet qualified patients and gave our first grants that September at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.

Since then the Lemonade Fund has expanded to every corner of the country, helping thousands of cancer patients with one-time emergency grants. We have become the known Israeli safety net for needy breast cancer patients, Israel’s only breast cancer emergency relief fund. 

13 years later we still do not rent offices – staff and volunteers all work from home. We have kept our infrastructure lean and efficient so that donations can go from the hand of the donor to the hand of the recipient. 

Since October 7, the Lemonade Fund has upped our activity, given extra wartime grants, responding to the urgent needs of cancer patients who have:

  • Been evacuated from their homes, moved far from treatment centers.
  • Lost critical family support due to distance, army service or, sadly, death.
  • Gone bankrupt or lost jobs due to the economic impact of the war.
  • Families who need extra help due to trauma.

We will mark the fast of Tisha B’Av next week, formerly the most tragic day in Jewish tradition. Sadly we have a new day to add, but we are a people with fortitude and strength and we will rebuild, dance and laugh again. This is who we are.

The 9th of Av happens to be the anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis and with each passing year, I see how a day of sadness can be transformed into a day of celebration, of life, of doing good together as a nation. Turning lemons into lemonade.

May we be strong and united as never before.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all our supporters,

-Shari