At that age, Vered was racked with worry about whether she would ever be able to conceive children. Through her role as an NBCF community ambassador, Vered wants to support young women with breast cancer. Read her letter to her daughter below
My beautiful gorgeous daughter,
The year is 2030. I’m reading this letter at your 12th birthday. It‘s a special birthday for you as it is a Jewish coming of age ritual – when you transition from a girl to a woman. As a young woman, I have been able to watch you navigate this world with generosity and passion. I have seen you continue to spread love and bring this endless joy of yours everywhere you go.
Being a woman today is certainly easier than it used to be. You have the full scope of options. However, certain areas are still a challenge. In addition to your beautiful blue eyes, your shiny hair, and your pale complexion, you may also have inherited some other genes – genes that would make you more likely to have breast cancer. I’m sorry, it isn’t fair. I know. But now there are zero deaths from breast cancer, this is less scary then it used to be.
In 2020, 53 women in Australia were diagnosed with breast cancer every day. 53 women had to call their loved ones to give them the overwhelming news that they had been diagnosed. Thanks to the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s investment in breast cancer research, deaths from breast cancer are now zero. We have come a long way since 2020, when the survival rate was 91%.
I have always known I wanted you in my life. However, there were times that this vision became blurry, and the road unpaved. You came to me like a beautiful dream (with a bit of help from doctors, research and technology). Having you and your brother is my most outstanding achievement. You teach me everything about kindness, patience, and what really matters. I am going to do everything I can to spend the next 40-50 years with you, your brother and your daddy.
Life may present you with different scenarios, you may not always say or do the right thing. I certainly still don’t. However, no matter what, I love you and your brother endlessly.
Mummy