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I was amazed with the results and we discovered that my mother and I were not the only ones who did not know. And out there, there are so many women who still do not know.
My name is Bar Levy, I’m from Tel Aviv Israel. I’m the daughter of Sarit Rosenberg Levy, who passed away so young from uterine cancer. But I’m here to tell you my story, and it starts while I was sitting on the hospital’s floor next to my mother’s bed. It was 3:00 a.m. and she was finally asleep. She had been in the hospital for 33 days. 33 days since I’ve seen my wife or slept in my own bed. I was so worried, but not just because I felt like I was in the middle of military operation, it was because I finally understood the articles I was reading. You guys who watch this video right now, you must understand, I’m not a doctor and I do not have a medical or paramedical education. I’m just a lawyer. In Israel, we speak Hebrew. And the uterine cancer information available in Hebrew does not exist. So I decided I would read in English too. And you know what? The information written in English was not enough too. So I started to look for scientific information in English medical journals. It was 3:00 a.m. on day 33 of my mother’s hospitalization, sitting there on the floor with the articles. I understood that we would have a very long war against this cancer. That’s what I had read about stage 4 uterine cancer. My mom, she was a fighter and I was sure that we would eventually win this war and conquer cancer. I hoped so badly, but 9 months later I learned how short the battle was.
I was so angry with myself, not because we did not conquer cancer, but because her diagnosis was so late. She had suffered with abnormal vaginal bleeding for 2 years, why didn’t I understand that it was a sign for cancer? Why didn’t we know?
During her chemotherapy, we dreamed together about founding an association. we wanted to support and provide resources for other patients translating the latest data and information to Hebrew. So others won’t have to explore so much as I did. We wanted to make sure that no woman will lose her life because she was not aware of the symptoms of gynecological cancers. Fast forward 18 months later, I had seen it through. The dream my mother and I shared. I founded HaBait Shel Bar Israel Women’s Cancer Association one month after my mother passed away. I now manage a team of five personnel and I’m so proud. We did something unique in just a year and honored the month of June as the first uterine cancer awareness month in Israel.
When I heard the IGCS said the same idea in 2023, I knew we were on the right path. Now our association is well established, and we have a very good practice of exploring and investigating our projects. We decided that we needed data. So we launched a survey to assess the current knowledge and awareness of Israeli healthy women regarding uterine cancer. I was amazed with the results, and we discovered that my mother and I were not the only ones who did not know. Out there, there are so many women who still do not know and for the first time in 18 months I could breathe again. I stopped feeling responsible for my mother’s death. We discovered that three out of four women are completely unaware of uterine cancer. They had never heard about it. We understand that we have so much work to do in raising awareness and supporting patients. We understand that we can impact lives because earlier diagnosis means better prognosis. I urge you to spread the word, help us save lives, and be aware of symptoms like abnormal vaginal bleeding, and educate those you love, like your mother and sister. Being educated for yourself and other women. Women can be cured from uterine cancer. I ask you for something, my story, my mother’s story should not be yours. Don’t let it be yours.
