Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center fielded 100 participants in the first-ever Jerusalem Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure which took place today, earning the hospital the distinction of as the largest team of any healthcare organization to participate in the event. The Race, which was taking place in Jerusalem for the first time, has become a well known sensation around the world and raises funds for breast cancer research. The Shaare Zedek delegation was made up primarily of staff from the Medical Center’s Oncology Institute including Dr. Moshe Carmon, Director of the Breast Cancer Treatment Unit, alongside breast cancer survivors, many of whom had been treated in the hospital and friends and family. A special delegation came from the United States just for the Race to represent the American Friends of Shaare Zedek.
The “team leader” for Shaare Zedek, Rozi Florsheim, has been in remission since successfully beating breast cancer six years ago and today works as a Development Officer for the hospital. She said the race gave survivors a positive outlet to come together and was something they all welcomed. “The Susan G. Koman Foundation has done tremendous work in highlighting the public health dangers posed by breast cancer and we welcomed the chance for us as a community of survivors to come together for this important event,” Ms. Florsheim said. “People who have been forced to experience this disease have a special bond for life and today we’re able to use that bond for a positive purpose and hope that others will never have to go through what we have.”
Shaare Zedek, as Jerusalem’s fastest growing hospital, is the city’s leading medical facility for the treatment of breast cancer. Through a multi-disciplinary approach the hospital addresses over 60 percent of the cases presented by Jerusalem-area women. In addition to its clinical role in combating the disease with a very active surgery unit, Shaare Zedek has gained an international reputation as a research leader in identifying genetic linkages to the disease. The hospital’s Department of Medical Genetics, under the direction of Professor Ephrat Levy-Lahad, is active in helping women in early detection of the disease by comprehensive genetic screening for the BRCA genes proven to be linked to breast and ovarian cancers.
“Shaare Zedek takes great pride in the large role we are playing in this race as we know this is an event that is helping call much needed attention to one of the most prevalent healthcare problems of our time,” said Professor Jonathan Halevy, Shaare Zedek’s Director General who helped lead the hospital’s delegation. “We know that by making the public more aware of the dangers and raising much needed funds to better understand what causes breast cancer, we can drastically reduce the numbers of women who need to cope with this terrible disease and hopefully we can find a cure that much faster.”