(Jewish Group) Sheryl Grossman, Jewish activist who shed light on rare genetic disorder, dies at 46
Sheryl Grossman, an activist whose own rare disease fueled her advocacy for people with disabilities inside and beyond Jewish communities, died on Monday at 46.
Grossman was “surrounded by loving friends after a 17-year, determined struggle with multiple cancers,” according to her obituary.
Grossman’s cancers were associated with Bloom’s Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by many symptoms, including short stature, immune deficiency and an increased susceptibility to many cancers. (Grossman was 4-foot-3 and weighed 48 pounds.) Fewer than 300 people are listed in the Bloom’s Syndrome Registry, and about a quarter of them, like Grossman, have Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.
Grossman became a leader in this small community, founding a Facebook group for people living with Bloom’s Syndrome.
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