Success Stories – The Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation

Canadian Donor receives life-saving breast cancer treatment at Shaare Zedek

A routine mammogram in August 2013, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, for Shaare Zedek donor and Board Member Beverly Lyons, would turn into a life-changing experience for the 66-year-old, who was about to make Aliyah to Israel.

With no prior history of breast cancer in her family, Beverly received the news from Toronto doctors that there were abnormal changes in her left breast that needed further investigation.

Rather than delay her move to Israel with her husband Elliott, they decided to forge ahead with their relocation and have the changes investigated in Israel at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Beverly’s cousin, Dr. Ofer Merin, Deputy Director General at Shaare Zedek, referred her to the new Comprehensive Breast Health Complex at the hospital. There, she was placed under the care of Dr. Shalom Strano, the head of the Diagnostic Center, and one of Israel’s premier breast cancer experts. Everyone she asked in the community confirmed that Dr. Strano was the “best”. Beverly was impressed with Dr. Strano’s extremely thorough and compassionate care as he performed further testing and a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.

Shaare Zedek’s Breast Health Unit is renowned for its patient-centered, integrated healthcare philosophy. The team of professionals offers a comprehensive approach to the services provided to patients coping with breast cancer by including surgeons, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, personal counselors for support, along with a breast health nurse coordinator who provides continuous guidance and information throughout the process.

“I was so grateful to have Susan Ben-Dahan as my Breast Health Nurse Coordinator. She seemed to always be there when I had doctor’s appointments and could explain exactly what was being done and what I should expect. The team, in addition to being extremely professional, was exceptionally caring and supportive. I knew I could contact them at any time with my concerns or questions and they would provide my husband and I with on-going support,” shared Beverly in a recent interview.

After diagnosis, Beverly was transferred to the care of Dr. Moshe Carmon, who as head of the Breast Health Clinical Center, is responsible for overseeing the treatment of over 65 percent of breast cancer cases in Jerusalem. Dr. Carmon is a leading surgeon and clinician known for using cutting-edge treatment and for his attention to the unique needs of each woman and her family.

Dr. Carmon crafted a treatment plan for Beverly that included surgery to remove the cancer cells in her left breast, followed by radiation. “Dr. Carmon provided personal care and made me feel comfortable and that I was in good hands. Shaare Zedek is at least on par with leading Canadian hospitals and I’m very appreciative and impressed by the exceptional care I received here in Israel. The team approach is more comprehensive than in many Ontario facilities and the speed with which I was moved from diagnosis to treatment was absolutely amazing. ”

Only three months after Beverly’s initial mammogram, her treatments at Shaare Zedek were complete. While this battle may be won, Beverly will continue to be followed by the team at Shaare Zedek with semi-annual visits to monitor her remission.

Beverly decided to share her very personal story because she wanted to underscore the importance of “mature” women receiving annual mammograms and the results analyzed by qualified institutions. She is grateful to the Radiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital for her expertise, for without her identification of the abnormal changes, Beverly’s outcome may have been quite different. Finally, it was the outstanding, compassionate and decisive care that she received at Shaare Zedek that is important to share.

In recognition of the superb care that she received at Shaare Zedek Beverly and Elliott have made a generous gift in support of our Canadian Foundation’s ambitious $1 million Breast Health Campaign to benefit the Breast Health Clinical Center at Shaare Zedek. With support from donors like Beverly and Elliott, we are hopeful that together we can ensure that Shaare Zedek remains at the forefront of breast cancer research, diagnosis and treatment.

We invite you to join our circle of donors and make a contribution to the $1 million Breast Health Campaign. With the support of a circle of generous and committed champions who rise to the challenge, Shaare Zedek Medical Center will transform care for women with breast cancer. If you would like to make a gift in support of the $1 million Breast Health Campaign please contact our office at 416-781-3584.

After arriving in Canada in 1948 following the war, a young Mark Nusbaum and his family settled in Halifax. He enrolled in the dentistry program at university and married his late wife Edith Juda in 1960. Dr. Nusbaum enjoyed a successful career in dentistry, is a businessman and philanthropist who supports several local hospitals, educational and Israeli charities.

Dr. Nusbaum recently dedicated the gift of two oral surgery chairs and equipment for the oral surgery department at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in loving memory of his late wife Edith. In the photo taken at Shaare Zedek in July, Dr. Nusbaum is surrounded by his loving children and grandchildren. He is blessed with 4 daughters and 23 grandchildren.

We are very grateful to the Nusbaum family for their very generous gift which benefits the newly established unit for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Michael, his wife Rochelle and daughter Shayna, visited the hospital recently to see the plaque recognizing an estate gift from Michael’s uncle, Joseph Kerzner, which provided a single-bed room in the Stroke Unit as part of the Helmsley Neurological Institute. Over 1200 cases of strokes have been treated in the Institute since opening. The Kerzner family has ensured that thousands of stroke patients will receive world class medical care.

Donors Andy and Marjorie Gann toured the hospital recently. The Gann’s generous gift of a patient monitor is in appreciation of the doctors and nurses who provided their daughter Eleanore with excellent care while she was a patient.

Donors, Jack Feintuch and John Kaplan attended a dedication of a Pediatric X-Ray Room located in our Pediatric Emergency Area which was made in memory of Joseph and Faye Tanenbaum. The dedication was attended by, Professor Jonathan Halevy , Director General of SZ, who hosted the dedication, Professor Yechiel Schlesinger– Head of the Wilf Children’s Hospital, Dr. Matti Erlichman – Head of Pediatric ER, Dr Ofer Binyaminov – Head of Imaging , Dr Ruth Cytter-Quint– Head of Pediatric Imaging, Shlomi Hazzan – Chief Technician responsible for all imaging equipment in the hospital, Matti Hoffman – Chief Pediatric Imaging Technician, Avraham Harari– Deputy Director of SZ for Administration , Gadi Ilan – Deputy Director of SZ for Administration, and additional staff.

During the dedication, Dr Binyaminov spoke about the current expansion of the imaging facilities in Shaare Zedek and the importance of having essential diagnostic tools, such as a new X-Ray room adjacent to the busy Pediatric Emergency Room.

Previous Stroke Patient Knows That Every Second Counts When Stroke Strikes

Loretta and Roy Tanenbaum have been loyal supports of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem for over 20 years now. Their connection to Shaare Zedek began when their son was born and subsequently treated in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The ties were strengthened when several of their grandchildren were born at Shaare Zedek many years later.

Recently, when Roy and Loretta learned about the plans to open a new Brain Center at Shaare Zedek from our newsletter, they felt compelled to help and find out more. The news resonated with the Tanenbaum’s as Roy suffered a stroke in January 2012 and was fortunate to make a full recovery thanks to the quick response from a Canadian hospital team. The Tanenbaum’s experienced first-hand how important it is to react quickly in an instance of stroke and how immediate treatment can save a life.

Learning that Shaare Zedek is raising funds toward the $15 million needed to open the new Brain Center at the hospital struck a chord with Loretta and Roy. Their recent gift of an Intracranial Suction Set for the hospital’s neurosurgery department will help save lives. With their long-lasting fondness for Shaare Zedek and their personal experience, they felt that supporting such a worthy cause was a perfect fit.

One Patient’s Recent Experience at Shaare Zedek

On an erev Shabbat this past August in Israel, I experienced some back pain and a slight headache. The next day however, I could hardly bend over to get out of bed. Feeling feverish, I passed out a few times after which I went to seek medical care at an emergency after-hours clinic. There, I was given fluids for dehydration, advised to increase my iron levels and sent home, though my condition had not improved.

The next morning, after passing out again, I went to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, for emergency treatment. The next two weeks I remained in hospital, where I underwent many tests and received I. V. antibiotic treatment for a very dangerous Strep A infection in my blood.

What I experienced, in a department that was filled to capacity with patients, were nurses and doctors who always treated each patient with respect and compassion. I always felt that the doctors took time to listen and explain things to me, even when they were pressed for time. In the moment, when a doctor was with me, I was made to feel like I was the only patient on their mind.

There are two nurses working in a department with approximately 30 patients. While the nurses are extremely busy caring for an overwhelming number of patients, they maintained a friendly and warm demeanour, even for those patients who were more challenging or demanding. I was impressed that my nurses would provide even the littlest things to help me and other patients, feel as comfortable as possible, and they never revealed how overworked and exhausted they must have felt.

One of our nurses, Na’ama, even went so far as to offer her daughter to provide overnight babysitting services for my children, so that my husband could be with me at the hospital. Her offer went above and beyond her professional responsibilities and demonstrated the sincere and heartfelt care that I received.

There were three significant highlights which resonated most about the care that I received as a patient at Shaare Zedek. I was extremely impressed by the excellent medical care and level of professionalism from the staff and physicians. Each doctor consulted with a team of specialists to provide not only a patient centred approach to my care, but a truly comprehensive and holistic experience. They arranged for my tests, MRI, CT, ultrasounds, heart echo, and abdominal fluid drain to happen quickly in order to avoid any delay which might have otherwise caused the infection to spread or increase in severity. There were many doctors who followed my progress, checking in to ensure that my condition was improving.

Another standout was the pluralism of the hospital. The staff and patients come from every sector of Israeli society. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim medical staff, from the most secular to the most strictly observant, who care for patients from every possible background: Secular Jews, Chareidi Hassids, Korean tourists, Bedouins, Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, Christians, and even prisoners in leg shackles, will all receive the same world-class medical care. Despite how sick I felt, I experienced a great surge of pride to be an Israeli and a sense of hope for a society that could be modelled after the outstanding co-existence which is evident at Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

Finally, what I found most impressive was how significant and important I was made to feel by all the staff. I was treated like a person, not just a patient. Doctors remembered me and my medical history; nurses anticipated my needs to make me more comfortable, and even the nutrition staff worried when I didn’t eat. In spite of an obvious lack of resources including wheelchairs, nursing staff and state of the art hospital beds, Shaare Zedek provided excellence in patient care and should be credited with saving my life.

Canadian Donor receives life-saving breast cancer treatment at Shaare Zedek

Previous Stroke Patient Knows That Every Second Counts When Stroke Strikes

One Patient’s Recent Experience at Shaare Zedek

Donate today.

Please select your Donation option below