Breast cancer already has had a significant impact on the life of OUWB medical student Rachel Israel — but she’s intent on not letting it get the best of her.
First and foremost, breast cancer was the cause of a personal tragedy in her life — one that pushed her to pursue a career in medicine and become an advocate for breast cancer awareness.
Second, as a carrier of the BRCA1 gene, at age 23 she had a preventative mastectomy — a procedure she has used as inspiration to focus on mindfulness and building strength.
And most recently, Israel led an Oncology Interest Group (OncIG) fundraiser that resulted in nearly $10,000 being donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She calls it a “passion project.”
“I have very personal ties to breast cancer,” says Israel. “My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 27 and died when she was 30. It was really important to her to spread awareness of early onset breast cancer.”
“One of my goals in med school is to really spread that message,” Israel continues. “I like talking about her … I want to talk about her story. And I like to talk about my story.”
The bottom line, says Israel, is that others need to feel as comfortable talking about breast cancer.
“It’s just not talked about enough that women can get breast cancer at 27 years old and it’s really important for me to educate others on that,” she said. “I thought a really good way to do that would be to raise money for the cause.”
Specifically, Israel wanted to create a fundraiser based on the barre fitness method that combines elements of dance, Pilates, strength training, and mindfulness. She drew inspiration from her sister, Mara Hanna Israel.
“One time between chemo treatments I went with her to a personal trainer,” says Israel. “I was just so amazed by her being so sick … and pushing herself to go to the gym.”
Israel took her idea to the rest of the OncIG board and Julia Freeman, president, says everyone was immediately on board.
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| M1 Rachel Israel (left) and her sister, Mara Hanna Israel. |
“Raising money for breast cancer research on top of supporting health movement that actually reduces risk of cancer overall was a perfect combination to support the goals of OncIG … raising awareness, fundraising, prevention, and recruitment into oncology,” says Freeman.
Next, they took the plan to barre3 in Rochester Hills, where co-owner Lindsay Irrer says “it was an honor” to support the effort. There, participants paid for a special class that was held in October that included an instructor-led workout and special time at the end to connect and learn more about the cause.
“At barre3, community care is at the heart of everything we do,” says Irrer. “Supporting this fundraiser felt especially meaningful because breast cancer has personally touched our studio family — we lost a longtime member who brought so much light and strength into our space.”
Irrer says being part of the fundraiser “allowed us to continue to honor her memory, uplift others walking a similar path, and remind our community what it looks like to show up for one another with compassion.”
Further, she adds the OUWB students were “an absolute joy” and “were thoughtful, organized, and genuinely invested in creating an experience that blended movement, education, and advocacy.”
“Their professionalism and heart were evident from the very beginning, and it was inspiring to see how deeply they cared about making an impact beyond the classroom,” says Irrer.
All funds went toward breast cancer research. Because the Breast Cancer Research Foundation was doing a triple match of donations, the OncIG fundraiser resulted in almost $10,000 being dedicated to the cause.
“It was amazing,” says Israel. “I never thought we were going to raise that much money.”
Freeman says OncIG already is looking ahead, too.
“The success of this fundraiser is incredible,” she says. “We hope that this can turn into a yearly partnership to continue raising funds for breast cancer research.”
She credits Israel with being “the heart of it all.”
“Without (Rachel’s) passion, I doubt this fundraiser would have been such a success,” says Freeman.
And Irrer says the effort also shows the “power of community.”
“We’re grateful to everyone who attended, contributed, and helped bring this event to life,” says Irrer. “Moments like this remind us of the power of community — when we move together, we uplift one another in meaningful ways.”
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
