64 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2024
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64 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2024
The
Bulletin
Board
Tay-Sachs Awareness Month:
Prioritize Your Health
with Jscreen
Shari Ungerleider from New York and Myra Sack
from Boston have one thing in common: They
both lost a child to Tay-Sachs disease. It is hard
to believe that, after all these years, babies are still
born with Tay-Sachs and other devastating genetic
diseases.
The challenge is ensuring that future families
don’t have to suffer. The solution is simple: accu-
rate, comprehensive genetic screening and person-
alized genetic counseling for prospective parents.
Both Myra and Shari are vocal advocates of
genetic screening. They have teamed up with
Jscreen, a national nonprofit public health ini-
tiative dedicated to preventing Jewish and other
genetic diseases and educating communities about
the importance of preconception genetic testing.
This September (Tay-Sachs Awareness Month
and Rosh Hashanah), Jscreen will raise awareness
about genetic screening so that every family can
plan for a happy new year and a healthy future.
Jscreen makes genetic testing simple, accessible
and affordable by offering easy-to-use at-home
saliva test kits. The Jscreen Reproductive Carrier
Screen gives prospective parents a deep under-
standing of their risk of having a child with a
genetic disease.
Designed for individuals between 18-45, it tests
for over 200 genetic diseases, including Tay-Sachs
and other diseases commonly found in the Jewish
population as well as diseases common in other
groups. If a carrier couple is identified, Jscreen
provides them with telehealth genetic counseling
to discuss their results and options available for
family planning.
Tay-Sachs disease is a rare, inherited genet-
ic disease mainly affecting infants and young
children. Tay-Sachs is caused by absence of the
enzyme HexA, which causes excessive accumu-
lation of specific lipids in the brain and nerve
cells, resulting in progressive neurological dam-
age. Babies born with Tay-Sachs disease usually
develop normally for the first few months, but as
the disease progresses, they begin to regress. The
children become blind and deaf, suffer from sei-
zures and have respiratory issues. Children with
Tay-Sachs often die before the age of 5.
There is no cure for Tay-Sachs disease, but
genetic testing and counseling allow people to
determine if they have an increased risk of having
a child with the disease.
“
A simple, at-home saliva test can really help
families avoid heartbreak. Jscreen is there every
step of the way to provide information about Tay-
Sachs and other diseases, and to help prospective
parents make decisions about the future of their
families,
” explains Karen Arnovitz Grinzaid, exec-
utive director of Jscreen.
Myra Sack and Matthew Goldstein
with their late daughter, Havi
SPOTLIGHT
Gesher Human Services, one of the largest human
service agencies in Metro Detroit that also pro-
vides financial education, will be offering a free
webinar called the Marriage Money Masterplan at
1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13.
Approximately one in four marriages end
because of conflict due to finances, according to
the Jimenez Law Firm. The 2024 Fidelity Couples
and Money Study found that more than a quar-
ter of partners felt resentful for being left out of
financial decisions and more than half can’t agree
on how much money they need to save for retire-
ment.
This workshop will help married couples, along
with those who are engaged or in a long-term
relationship, learn the importance of managing
money, budgeting, saving and investing together.
It will also cover topics such as adopting similar
parenting money styles when making financial
decisions for children, open communication,
financial goals, income and expenses, and finan-
cial infidelity. To register, go to geshermi.org/
events.
“Talking about money is not the easiest, but
developing strategies for finances as a couple
can only make your relationship stronger,
” said
Gesher’s financial education manager, Laltsha
Cunningham.
Free Virtual Workshop to Promote Financial
Harmony Among Michigan Couples
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