This blog will cover topics of interest that affect our community. Unless otherwise stated, the blog articles will be written by Sue Friedman, Executive Director of FORCE.
By Joanna Marks Ask any woman who has undergone a risk-reducing salpingo oophorectomy (RRSO) about recovery and you will hear about both the physical and emotional challenges of this process. If ovaries are removed prior to a woman’s natural menopause transition, she will likely enter premature menopause. For many women, cognitive complaints (like difficulty concentrating … + read more
by David Dessert I was diagnosed with stage 3 unresectable pancreatic cancer at age 48 after 5 months of ever-increasing back and abdominal pains. After a non-standard treatment with Gemzar/Cisplatin chemotherapy (because of my BRCA2 mutations), followed by chemoradiation, and 12 months later the removal of my pancreatic tumor, my surgeon told me that I … + read more
by Laura Esserman, MD Breast cancer screening today: A groundbreaking breast cancer screening study is underway in California and you may be eligible to be a part of it. It’s called the Wisdom Study. The aim is to determine if we can make screening better by personalizing each woman’s mammogram schedule, compared to the current … + read more
by Lisa Schlager It is estimated that less than 5% of adults with cancer enroll in clinical trials. About a fifth of adult cancer clinical trials fail to recruit enough participants to complete the research.[1] These two facts hinder the development of better, safer methods to treat and prevent cancer. To help improve this situation, … + read more
by Lisa Schlager Historically, the only role for patients in cancer research was as a subject enrolled in a clinical trial. Research generally focused exclusively on outcomes such as overall survival and neglected to account for variables such as side effects and quality of life. Engaging patients as advisors in research—reviewing study design, informed consent … + read more
by Jordan Dietrich SOLO3 SOLO3 is an exciting phase III ovarian cancer clinical trial that studies the effectiveness and safety of the PARP inhibitor Olaparib (Lynparza) compared to single-agent standard chemotherapy in women with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer with germline BRCA1/2 mutations. The trial is designed to confirm the benefit of Olaparib in this subset of … + read more
By Ding Wang, MD and Catherine Jenovai Immune system and cancer Every day our bodies are exposed to various injuries that may damage our cells. The damaged cells with certain types of genetic defects are tagged as abnormal and removed by our immune system. If something goes wrong and the cells are not removed by … + read more
By Rona Greenberg Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer is part of my family history. My grandmother, Rebecca, for whom I am named, died from breast/ovarian cancer in1934; my mother was ten years old. My mother died from the same cancer in 1967; I was nineteen years old with three younger sisters. In 1997, I was … + read more
Guest blog by Heather H. Cheng, MD, PhD Researchers have long been aware that prostate cancer carries a substantial familial risk. New data (Robinson, et al Cell 2015) from the Stand Up To Cancer-Prostate Cancer Foundation International Dream Team collaborative group examined the genetic sequence of 150 tumors from men with advanced, hormone-resistant, metastatic prostate … + read more
By Heather Han, MD and Sue Friedman Metastatic Hereditary Breast Cancer Research There are major gaps in research, resources, and support for people with metastatic breast cancer – cancer that has spread beyond the breast and lymph nodes. A promising area of research is focusing on new treatments for hereditary metastatic breast cancer caused by … + read more
By Talia Golan, MD and Sue Friedman, DVM BRCA and pancreatic cancer The link between breast and ovarian cancer and BRCA mutations has been known since the 1990s. However, the awareness that these mutations also increase pancreatic cancer risk is more recent. If all patients with pancreatic cancer were tested for a BRCA1 or BRCA2 … + read more
by Sue Friedman Great progress has been made since the identification of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and their link to causing breast, ovarian, pancreatic and other cancers. Over the last two decades, researchers have studied how BRCA mutations cause cancer in an effort to develop new treatments. In December 2014, Lynparza, (olaparib), a type … + read more
Our helpline offers peer support for people concerned about hereditary cancer. All calls are confidential. Call any time.
FORCE has outreach groups throughout the United States and in Essex, United Kingdom that meet periodically to offer peer support, and share resources.
