Breast Cancer Awareness Event
Sunday, October 27, 2024 • 11:15AM

Join us in the final days of Breast Cancer Awareness Month for a conversation with Jenny Leon, breast cancer survivor and Sharsheret representative, and Rachael Lerner, Beth El congregant and breast health expert. This discussion is open to people of all ages, including young women because breast cancer doesn’t discriminate.

Jenny Leon is a breast cancer survivor, veteran lawyer, freelance writer and mother of 3 under 7, living in Montclair. Jenny was diagnosed with BRCA1-related Stage 2A triple negative breast cancer at 33 weeks pregnant with her second child. She had a one year old at the time. She went on to have a double mastectomy 3 weeks after her daughter’s birth followed by chemo, radiation and later a preventative hysterectomy. She is now 5 years cancer-free. Her children are 6, 5 and her post-cancer miracle baby is 23 months. Jenny is also an accomplished speaker and writer; her memoir in progress is about the experience of being diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy and how this trauma helped her to immerse herself in life.

Rachael Lerner, WHNP-BC is a board certified women’s health nurse practitioner and the past President of Nurse Practitioners of Metropolitan New York. She has worked in the healthcare field for over 20 years in a variety of settings including Women’s and Breast Health and Oncology at George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, Mt Sinai Medical Center in NY, and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is a speaker and educator on Health Policy and Women’s Health on national, state, and city level and is available for consulting, teaching, and assisting patients navigate the healthcare system. Rachael is a mother of two, and one of her main focuses is empowering individuals in maximizing their wellness and quality of life through her own lived experiences of balancing her profession and personal life.

Sharsheret is Jewish organization that works to connect people who are diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer with one-on-one and a peer support system. Sharsheret also helps the families of people who are diagnosed with genetic counseling so they can learn more about their family history and connection to cancer. Learn more about Sharsheret at sharsheret.org.

Coordinated by Olivia Traub, junior at Columbia High School and aspiring breast cancer researcher.