Tagged BRCA mutations

New guidelines call for early breast cancer risk assessment

Dr. Michele Ley

Women should get a formal breast cancer risk assessment between the ages of 25 and 30, according to the new guidelines set by The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), published in May. According to the organization, one in eight women, or 12 percent of women in the United… Read more »

OP-ED I tested positive for the cancer-causing BRCA mutation. Now what?

Laura Osman is shown with her husband, Lawrence, and their children, from left, Levi, Teddy and Molly. (Courtesy of Laura Osman)

ENCINO, Calif. (JTA) — Curiosity about my ancestry spurred me to order an at-home genetic testing kit by mail earlier this year. Maybe my blonde hair was a result of some hidden Swedish genes? When the kit arrived, I quickly spit in the tube and sent it off, not… Read more »

The three cancers Jews need to worry about most — and how to reduce the risks

Better education about the dangers of sun exposure is credited for helping bring Israel's skin cancer rate down from the world's second-highest a decade ago to 18th today. ( Miriam Alster/Flash 90)

As if Jews don’t have enough to worry about. Geopolitical threats to the Jewish people may wax and wane, but there’s another lethal danger particular to the Jewish people that shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon: cancer. Specifically, Jews are at elevated risk for three types of the… Read more »

OP-ED In breast cancer testing, knowledge is power — and potentially distressing

Women representing Sharsheret, a support group for Jewish breast and ovarian cancer patients and their families. (Sharsheret/Facebook)

(JTA) — Five years ago, on a whim, Cindy, a 27-year-old Jewish woman, decided to pursue genetic testing through an online laboratory. She wasn’t expecting any surprises because she had no family history of cancer or increased risk factors. She was young and living a healthy lifestyle. But Cindy’s… Read more »

New breast cancer stats: What’s an Ashkenazi woman to do?

The North Portico of the White House is illuminated pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Oct. 15, 2014. (Official White House photo/Chuck Kennedy)

  (JTA) — It’s been a busy couple of weeks for breast cancer. Of course, breast cancer is always busy, exerting its sneaky destruction through abnormal cell growth. But now it’s October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the scary fact is everywhere again: One in eight women will… Read more »