This is a picture of the strongest woman I’ve ever met, my grandmother. Unfortunately, my loving, caring, fun, and energetic grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. She went through chemo and other medications that made her feel awful. Even though she was fighting something I did not even know was there (as I was only a little girl at this time); she was always there for me. She wasn’t just a fighter though; she also was a strong independent woman who would do anything for her family.

She came from Israel to Galveston with her family as they went through the hardships of moving. Through all her hardships she stayed positive and was a light in the darkness. This was the same with the situation with her breast cancer. In 2012, her doctor said that the chemo treatments were successful and she was free of breast cancer!

Afterwards we spent lots of time together. Every Friday she would pick me up from school and we would celebrate Shabbat together. She would make me my favorite food (chicken soup!), and we would watch her favorite TV show, Wheel of Fortune. We would try to guess the phrase before the contestants and she almost always solved the puzzle before I did.

Later, in 2017, we got the horrible news that her breast cancer had returned and this time it had spread to her liver. She took more chemo medications to stop the breast cancer, but the side effects were harsh and made her tired and drained.

Then in March 2020, Covid hit. My grandparents and everyone else were cautious with Covid. Since my grandma was immunocompromised, we had to stay apart. This made it harder to talk to each other and we were not able to see each other in person for many months.

Sometime in Mid-2020, the breast cancer had reached her brain. My Grandma’s memory started to slip away. It was painful to watch. It hurt me because I loved her so much, and to quote a line from one of my childhood books “I love you to the moon and back!”.

Sadly, on September 16th, 2020, my grandma lost her battle with breast cancer. In her memory, I am doing this Bat Mitzvah project to honor her legacy. She was a strong, independent, outgoing woman who was always helping others and she would have wanted me to follow in her footsteps.

My hope is that you will be inspired to donate to this amazing cause and bring a little joy to cancer patients in their greatest time of need.