Cancer Doesn’t Stop—Even In A War

Please Support What Came After Media: Donate here. Your donations make this work possible.

On March 18th of this year, I'd been back in America for a few days after getting stuck in Israel during the war with Iran. I still felt scattered, jet-lagged and wrung out. So I decided to treat myself to the ultimate comfort food: an authentic bagel.

I ran into a friend at (the kosher and delicious) Emma's Bagels in Skokie. She was sitting with a table of women I didn't know. After I explained why I looked so bedraggled, I learned they all worked for Sharsheret, an organization supporting Jewish women facing breast and ovarian cancer. One of them, Elana Silber, turned out to be the CEO — and that night, it happened, was Sharsheret's annual gala.

She invited me on the spot.

I decided to push past that not-quite-myself feeling and attend. I saw an art installation by a breast cancer survivor, heard several incredible speakers, and got a chance to hear about Sharsheret's work, which is now reaching Israel also.

Elana and I decided to meet a few months later in New York for an interview. As you'll hear, she's learned a lot about building in the aftermath of a crisis.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Credits:

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Associate Editor and Producer: Keren Glicksman

Content Editors: Keren Glicksman and Alexandra Yelderman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "נקייה" | Anat Malamud

Listen on Spotify or Apple Music

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(93)

Suddenly You Find Yourself Helpless

I sat with Israeli author, Yishay Ishi Ron, at his home in Kfar Saba this past summer. To prepare, I read his novel ⁠Dog⁠, which was deft, spare, and deeply moving in Yardenne Greenspan's beautiful tr...

12 Okt 1h

The Waves Are Still There

Welcome back to What Came After. This episode with guest Eden Einav comes out just days before the third anniversary of October 7th, and I think Eden is exactly the right person to spotlight as this a...

5 Okt 47min

These Days I'm Grateful

Support our work ⁠⁠here⁠⁠! WCA Media relies on your support to bring you episodes like this one. This past June, I sat down in Tel Aviv with Rita Yedid. Before October 7th, Rita's friends called her...

28 Sep 1h 1min

People Who Are Willing To Do What It Takes

Welcome back to What Came After. In this episode, Joseph Gitler welcomed me into his home—we recorded in March of 2026. Fortunately, our conversation wasn't interrupted by a missile attack but Israel...

23 Sep 42min

Your Students Carried Us

Please Support What Came After Media: Donate here. Your donations make this work possible. For months, Yoni Heilman and I kept missing each other. When I was in Israel, Yoni was serving in reserve du...

11 Aug 52min

This Project Is A Gift

Please Support What Came After Media: Donate here. Your donations make this work possible. When I first met with our guest, Dekkel Bachar, at the end of 2025, we talked about Shesek, an initiative of ...

21 Jul 32min

You Need To Trust Both Love And Evil

Please Support What Came After Media: Donate here. Your donations make this work possible. In March, I was in Israel when war broke out with the Iranian regime. Since I couldn't leave the country, I w...

7 Jul 51min