BRCA-patient survey

http://preview.tinyurl.com/BRCA-Pt-survey

Lets get our feelings out there! Please participate in my 5 minute online survey!
pass it on!

THANK YOU Sewanhaka H.S. Cosmetology-A JOB WELL DONE!

YOU & YOUR STUDENTS ARE THE BEST….THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU…We are so grateful!

You put alot of time and effort into this ♥ and we all had a good time.

Most of all…

WE THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR MOST GENEROUS DONATIONS

#BRCA #BREAST CANCER #OVARIAN CANCER #PREVIVORS #SURVIVORS

BRCA PREVIVORS AND SURVIVORS—-check this out!

 I just finished reading a book from one of our BRCA previvors and survivors members and I wanted to recommend it to anyone facing the preemptive decision of having a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy and or oophorectomy.

The book is: BEYOND THE PINK MOON by Nicki Boscia Durlester.  You can follow our link for all information. If you would like an autographed copy of the book, you can e-mail her directly at: nicki@beyondthepinkmoon.com.  Shipping will also be free.

Please order her book, as it is a very inspiring account and honest look at the issues we face. Nicki, has also offered to give back to our previvor and survivor community, by donating 25% of the books sales if you mention previvorsandsurvivors.com.

http://previvorsandsurvivors.com/forum/other-brca-previvor-blogs/beyond-the-pink-moon-a-memoir-of-legacy-loss-and-survival/page-1/

 It is her personal memoir of legacy, loss and survival.  I found the story to be unbelievably riveting. No matter how many stories I hear from our members, it always moves me to hear someone’s journey and what brought them to our site. We, who are diagnosed positive with the BRCA gene mutation, all have the same fears for ourselves and our families, and somehow having this sisterhood here, brings us all together.

As always,

Be well you all…..

Tobey

BLAST THIS WWP2 Gene PLEASE

Bloomberg news has reported that scientists have identified a “rogue gene” ( WWP2)

Attacking the gene in the future will make a protein in our body stronger & will enable our bodies to stop the cancer from spreading.

Hopefully medicine in the future can provide us with drugs to target this WWP2 gene.

follow this link for the entire story:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-24/blocking-rogue-gene-could-stop-spread-of-cancer-u-k-researchers-find.html

Parp inhibitors Chemotherapy Brca gene

BRCA NEWSWORTHY

ASCO Update: Emerging agents to change the landscape of ovarian cancer treatment

June 8, 2010 Analysis by: Jason Tse

ASCO or the American Society of Clinical Oncology has recently come out & said that they have had “encouraging” results with parp inhibitor drugs when combined with chemotherapy in the fight against breast & ovarian cancer. These drugs are Avastin, olaparib, AMG386, farletuzumab & voreloxin. Avastin is the frontrunner in these drugs & hopefully will be approved in 2011 to fight Ovarian Cancer.

Follow this link for this very interesting, promising news!

http://www.glgroup.com/News/ASCO-Update–Emerging-agents-to-change-the-landscape-of-ovarian-cancer-treatment-48853.html

Request for interview with women ages 18-39 who have tested positive for the BRCA 1 and 2 genes

My name is Sharlene Hesse-Biber and I am a Sociologist and Professor at Boston College.

I am conducting a study on women who have tested positive for the BRCA 1 and 2 genes. I hope to address the issue of why women seek this genetic testing and how they respond to a positive result, as well as the roles that other people in their lives play throughout the pre- and post- testing process.

I would like to set up a time to explore your experiences with genetic testing for the BRCA 1 and 2 genes. Such an interview would take about a half hour. Your participation in this research is completely voluntary, and if you choose to participate, you may withdraw from the study at any point throughout the project. I can interview you over the phone or if you are in commuting distance I can interview you in person.

I would also like to take a moment to tell you a little more about the study. I aim to address a current lack of research on women’s experiences with genetic testing for the genes linked to breast cancer and their responses to a positive result.  Some of the questions we will explore are:

1. How do women seek genetic testing for breast cancer?
2. What is the lived experience of women who have received a positive result? How is this affected if they have a family history of breast cancer?
3. What decisions, if any, do they make once they have a positive result? Is there a difference between their immediate and long-term decisions?
4. What role do their immediate family network, close friends, and co-workers play in their decision to get tested and in their post-testing experience?

If you are interested in participating in this study, please email me at hesse@bc.edu. I am also happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Sharlene Hesse-Biber

Professor, Department of Sociology, Boston College

Director, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Boston College

Myriad Genetics vs. the people

BRCA NEWSWORTHY

It’s not over yet, but right now the courts have ruled for the people! My favorite article thus far is: click here to follow the link:

Invalidation of gene patents will benefit patients

The article was written 4/3/10 & comes from the website: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100403/Invalidation-of-gene-patents-will-benefit-patients.aspx

If the ruling is upheld genetic testing & diagnosis will be open to more companies. Competition will put more players into the field & hopefully will be beneficial for patients.

BRCA MUTATION & INFERTLITY

BRCA NEWSWORTHY

Found this article: BRCA1 AND DEPLETION OF OOCYTE RESERVE

This seems to be where the info came from: American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 65th Annual Meeting: Abstract O-103. Presented October 21, 2009.

http://cancerology.blogspot.com/2009/10/brca1-and-depletion-of-oocyte-reserve.html

Apparently researchers are studying the fact that BRCA positive women have lowered oocyte reserves & infertility issues.

These findings were presented by Dr. Oktay from the Dept. of OBGYN at the Westchester Medical Center-NY Medical College in Valhalla.

Dr. Keefe Chair of the Dept. of OBGYN at the NYU Langone Medical Center in NYC says that based on this info women who are BRCA+ should be advised that they may lose their eggs earlier than women not affected with the BRCA gene mutation.

Please place any comments here: http://previvorsandsurvivors.com/forum/general-discussion/brca-mutation-infertility/page-1/post-215/#p215