Week devoted to raising awareness of inherited risks of developing cancer
On September 15th, 2010, in a unanimous show of support, the House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution designating the first-ever National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) Week and National Previvor Day. National HBOC Week 2010 is this week — September 26 — October 2, 2010. It’s meant to raise awareness of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. National Previvor Day, September 29, is meant to call attention to the many individuals who carry an inherited predisposition to cancer but have not developed the disease. “Three-quarters of a million Americans are estimated to carry an inherited gene mutation that causes a strong predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer,” explained Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). “These hereditary risk factors affect thousands of American ‘previvors’—survivors of a predisposition to cancer.” Certain genetic mutations significantly increase risk of breast and ovarian cancer. “BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations place a woman’s lifetime breast cancer risk as high as 85% and ovarian cancer risk as high as 50 percent, both significantly greater than that of the general population. Families with an inherited BRCA mutation have the highest known risk for both cancers, and multiple family members are often affected. Knowing one’s family health history is critical. Cancers tend to be more aggressive in women with BRCA mutations, and occur at a younger age, when individuals are less likely to undergo routine cancer screening …
Meet Lisa and Sherrl: Genetic Counseling
Lisa Owens was stunned when her cousin was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, but the situation took a more personal turn when genetic testing revealed that she and her mother, Sherrl Wenzel, carried the gene that increased their risk of contracting ovarian or breast cancer from less than one to 94 percent. In this Children’s Channel video podcast, Lisa and Sherrl share the story of how a visit to the Center for Genetics and Metabolism changed, and possibly saved, their lives.
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What life is like for those married to genetic counseling students.
Meridian Cancer Care – Allyson Silva’s Inspiring Story Fighting Breast Cancer
When Allyson was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, Dr. Camal and Dr. Griffith sat down with her for almost an hour, explaining each option and answering every question. With the help of her doctors, Allyson decided on a double mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction, radiation and chemotherapy. Because she was under 45, she also met with a genetic counselor to determine her risk for recurrence. Today, Allyson’s breast cancer is in remission…and she’s back to the life she loves. www.meridiancancercarenj.com www.meridianhealth.com
Mommy’s Minute – Gender Disappointment
While most pregnant women may not admit it, it’s quite normal to have a gender preference. But what happens if you find out it’s a boy and you were hoping for a girl or vise versa. Here are tips on how to cope with gender disappointment. Visit www.ThePregnancyShow.com
www.breastcancerdiscovery.com Most people believe because breast cancer runs in the immediate family then they would be at high risk of acquiring breast cancer. However, in truth, it’s not that simple. In Day 14, Dr. Susan K. Boolbol thoroughly discusses the role of genetics and the role it plays in relation to breast cancer. Video Transcript “The genetic factors of breast cancer are real and women understand that women overestimate their risk of developing breast cancer. So a woman will come in and say I’m high risk for breast cancer because my grandmother had breast cancer at 70 years old. The reality is you are not high risk with that family history. When we talk about a family history, there are several things that we want to know. Number one, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and what’s the relation to you, meaning is it a first degree relative, a second degree relative, a third degree relative and at what age were the diagnosed because that’s incredibly important when we discuss breast cancer. The other things that we want to know is if there’s anyone in your family with a history of ovarian cancer because breast and ovarian cancer can be genetically related. So that’s a very important concept. If we see a family history of both breast and ovarian cancer, red flags start to go up because there is a genetic link to these breast cancers. The reality is only about 5% to 8% of all breast cancers out there are due to a real genetic or inherited link. There are two …
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”Breast Cancer Runs in My Family” – Talk Health History Campaign PSA Video
ASHG, Genetic Alliance & WJLA-TV ABC 7 Family Health History Campaign — Public Service Announcement (PSA) Video: ”Breast Cancer Runs in My Family” For more information about the Talk Health History PSA Campaign, please visit our Web site at: www.talkhealthhistory.org
The Pregnancy Show offers you some positive new years resolutions and tips that you won’t want to break. These new year objectives are the keys to living a happier and healthier life. Visit www.ThePregnancyShow.com
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