Kushner, Rose

Author, journalist, breast cancer expert, and patient advocate, Rose (Rehert) Kushner was born in Baltimore in 1929. She worked as a technical writer and editor and was a correspondent covering the Vietnam war for the Baltimore Sun in 1967. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974 and went on to found and direct the Breast Cancer Advisory Center in Kensington, Md. A consultant and speaker on breast cancer, Kushner was the author of Why Me? What Every Woman Should Know About Breast Cancer to Save Her Life (1977); a revised version, Alternatives, was published in 1984. She was also the author of numerous articles and fact sheets. She was a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board (1980-1986), served on many of its task forces, and was a founder of the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations. Her trip to China (1984) drew attention to the increase of breast cancer there. Kushner died of breast cancer in 1990.

Rose Kushner, journalist, breast cancer expert, and patient advocate was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 22, 1929, the fourth child of Israel and Fannie (Gravitz) Rehert. After graduating from high school she worked for animal behaviorist Dr. Horsley Gantt at the Pavlovian Laboratory of Johns Hopkins Medical School (1947-51). She married Harvey Kushner in January 1951 and they had three children: Gantt, (born 1952), Todd (1956), and Lesley (1958). As she had always wanted to be a physician, Kushner took pre-med courses at Baltimore Junior College (1949) and Montgomery Junior College (1963), but switched to journalism and received her A.B. summa cum laude from the University of Maryland in 1972. She freelanced as a journalist in Bolivia and Vietnam (1967), wrote articles and an unpublished book, "The Peacehawks," covered the Yom Kippur war (1973), and did some medical writing.

The discovery of a breast lump which proved to be cancerous in June 1974, changed her life. Finding that there was little information available, she researched the topic in medical and technical publications and kept notes as she underwent lumpectomy and reconstructive surgery. An article based on her own experience appeared in the Washington Post and was syndicated in hundreds of newspapers. Her book Breast Cancer: A Personal History and Investigative Report (1975) was revised and reprinted twice, as Why Me? (1977) and Alternatives (1984). For her books and numerous articles about breast cancer she received awards from the American Medical Writers Association (1980, 1985). She was awarded the Medal of Honor (1987) and the Courage Award (1988) by the American Cancer Society. She founded the Breast Cancer Advisory Center (1975) to provide information and support for breast cancer patients and was frequently called before Congress to testify on health and cancer topics. In June 1977, she was the only non-physician chosen to be on an NIH panel, which adopted a two-stage procedure instead of the Halsted radical mastectomy as the standard treatment for women suspected of having breast cancer. As a result, a biopsy that located a breast lump was no longer automatically followed by a mastectomy.

President Carter appointed Kushner to the National Cancer Advisory Board (1980-86), where she brought to medical policy-making and task forces her skills as an investigative reporter and patient advocate. She was a founder of the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations and served on its board from 1986 to 1989. This umbrella organization linked many local groups, published a newsletter, and lobbied for policy reform. Her report on her trip to China (1984) drew attention to the spiralling increase in the incidence of breast cancer there and the need for self-examination as a means of prevention.

In June 1982 Rose Kushner developed a second cancer when her implant ruptured and had to be reinserted. She refused aggressive chemotherapy and was treated with tamoxifen . She campaigned against aggressive adjuvant chemotherapy in 1984. She was also involved in an FDA study of silicone breast implants and a DES (diethylstilbestrol) task force to track down the health histories of women like herself who had taken DES during pregnancy.

Rose Kushner died of cancer on January 7, 1990.