The Basser Center’s Homologous Hope in Times Square

“DNA Comes Alive in Penn Medicine’s Basser Research Center for BRCA” reads a video billboard in a glittering Times Square, alerting New Yorkers to the exciting unveiling of the Homologous Hope Sculpture at the Basser Center.Focusing on hereditary forms of cancer caused by mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, the Basser Center now welcomes visitors with a nearly one-ton sculpture, replete with LED lights that glow through the glass walls of the...

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Find Your Strength from Within at the 5th Focus On Integrative Medicine and Wellness Conference

Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center invites you to a free educational program to learn and experience integrative approaches designed to help you find your strength from within.Our special guest speaker is Reverend Blane J. Newberry, Pastor of Fellowship, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.Date: Friday, April 25, 2014 Time: 7:30 am - 2:30 pm EDT Location: Hilton Hotel, 4200 City Avenue Philadelphia, PARegister for the 5th Integrative...

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5 GI Symptoms No Woman Should Ignore

When it comes to gastrointestinal conditions, symptoms can be as mild as a nagging stomach ache, or as serious as a sharp pain that lasts all day.“Any symptom that lasts more than a few weeks, or causes interruptions in sleep or your daily schedule should not be ignored,” says gastroenterologist, Farzana Rashid, MD, at Penn Medicine Radnor. “However, there are several symptoms that should never be ignored, as they could be the sign of a more serious...

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From Desperation to Hope— One Man's Mission to Give Back

“Dr. Weinstein is a wonderfully confident surgeon, but he is also a tremendously caring person. During our first meeting he put his hand on my shoulder and said he would make things better—and he certainly did.”- John MillsJohn Mills with Dr. WeinsteinJohn Mills was raised to believe that life is an adventure, and that as long as he was dedicated to his goals, he could do anything. Little did he know, one day he would need to apply these life lessons...

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"I am here today thanks to research and breakthrough discoveries."- Susan, Ride to Conquer Cancer Rider

Susan Ranck was recently diagnosed with gastrointestinal stromal tumor, a cancer so rare, there is not yet a cure. Not too long ago, her cancer was a death sentence but today, Ranck has hope.“I am beyond grateful that funding from research enabled scientists to discover a drug that renabled me to at least control my cancer and now there are options to offset this terrible disease. I am here today thanks to research and breakthrough discoveries,”...

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Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer: Community Events

2013 was a record year for BRCA1/2 in the news. With Angelina Jolie’s op-ed on her BRCA1 mutation and decision to undergo double mastectomy and news coverage of the BRCA patent case, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer gained a lot of press, more so than ever before. But now in 2014, there is still a need to keep conversations active, since identifying increased cancer risk is necessary to benefit from increased surveillance and risk reduction measures.Individuals...

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Emily Ko, MD, Discusses Treatment for Endometrial Cancer {Video}

Emily Ko, MD, is a gynecologic oncologist who specializes in endometrial cancer treatment. In this video, she shares her treatment philosophy with us, and how cancer treatment at the Abramson Cancer Center focuses on treatments for the whole person - not just the cancer....

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Are E-Cigarettes Safe?

You’ve probably seen the ads – electronic, or “E” cigarettes that say they are an alternative to traditional tobacco products. But are they safer? Do they pose other risks?We sat with Frank Leone, MD, MS, Director, Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Programs at Penn Medicine to talk about the trend in e-cigarettes. What are e-cigarettes?E-cigarettes as a class have been around for about 10 years, though individual brands have not been around that long....

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AP Quotes Basser Center Director Susan Domchek on Recent Oophorectomy Article

A recent article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology confirmed the importance of oophorectomy for BRCA carriers and suggested a need for early oophorectomy for women with mutations in BRCA1, one of two genes known to greatly increase risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The article’s take-home message was that women with BRCA mutations benefit from risk-reducing oophorectomy, which confirms earlier published findings.This article suggested...

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Helping Your Children Memorialize Their Parent

Jessica Bemis is a full-time, working mom of two who lost her husband to testicular cancer in November 2011. Since then, Jessica has been sharing her story on her blog, Hope for Young Widows and working to bring awareness and hope to women and men who have lost their spouses to cancer. In trying to find ways to celebrate Jim’s life I thought a lot about his favorite things to do, see, work, travel, etc. One way the boys and I have memorialized Jim...

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New Art Installation Illustrates DNA Repair and Celebrates Hope for Patients and Families Carrying BRCA Mutations

Penn Medicine’s Basser Research Center for BRCA recently unveiled a sculpture that symbolizes the hope that the Basser Center brings to individuals and families affected by mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.Created in a ribbon-diagram formation, the sculpture illustrates how a healthy cell repairs DNA that causes breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. It is an accurate depiction of the part of the BRCA2 gene responsible for DNA repair. The...

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Should Drug Stores Stop Selling Tobacco?

Recently, the CVS chain announced that it will no longer sell tobacco products in their stores. Their decision comes at a loss, however, as CVS estimates their ban on tobacco products will cost the company $2 billion a year in profits. We recently caught up with Frank Leone, MD, MS, associate professor of medicine and director of Penn’s comprehensive smoking treatment programs, to ask what he thought of CVS’s newsworthy decision. What do you think...

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Trailblazer in Women's Sports Becomes Inspiration to Breast Cancer Community

“A breast cancer diagnosis takes you to a place that you cannot know unless you have been there,” said Rutgers University Women’s Basketball Coach C. Vivian Stringer. “Hearing the word cancer is like experiencing the death of a loved one.”Coach Stringer holds many titles – mother, sister, daughter, widow, and inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame. She is also a breast cancer survivor of almost 20 years and now, decades after her cancer journey...

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Lower Your Risk Of Endometrial Cancer

The majority of cancers that occur in the body of the uterus (womb) are endometrial cancers. The endometrium is the lining of the uterus. Endometrial cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women with over 320,000 cases diagnosed, globally.Fortunately, the overall survival rate for endometrial cancer is relatively high, at about 69% at the five-year mark.This disease produces symptoms at earlier stages than other cancers, which leads to an early...

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#ColonCancerACC Twitter Chat 3/20

Currently, colon cancer affects 1 in 20 people. One in 20.Symptoms like persistent stomachaches and pains, rapid weight loss and bloody bowel movements may be symptoms of colon cancer.And sometimes, like Michele learned, there are no symptoms at all. “[A colonoscopy] was the only thing I hadn’t done, and I really didn’t think much of it,” remembers colon cancer survivor Michele. “I felt great; there wasn’t a reason to get one other than I was 50...

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Would You Shield Your Future Child From Cancer?

Of course we all would, if it were always straight forward. This is the title question of a recent Wall Street Journal Health segment online. Based on WSJ reporter Bonnie Rochman’s article on a family who used reproductive technology to avoid passing on a BRCA mutation to their children, the segment explores the issue of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer caused by mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2.BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are associated with greatly increased risks for breast and ovarian cancer;...

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“If I can save one person from being where I was, that makes me happy.” - Michele

Michele on her 2-year "cancerversary."At 50, Michele was feeling great. She’d done everything she was supposed to do to take care of her health. Annual physical exam? Check. Mammogram? Yup. Echocardiogram? Done. Skin check for moles and skin cancer? No problem. Bone density scan? Solid.But the one thing she’d put off was getting a colonoscopy. “It was the only thing I hadn’t done, and I really didn’t think much of it,” remembers Michele. “I felt...

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Live Online Video Colorectal Cancer Chat with Penn Medicine Experts 3/12

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. To learn more about screening, symptoms, treatments and the latest research, we’re teaming up with 6ABC for a live, streaming webchat at 6abc.com/pennmedicineColorectal Cancer - Did you know?Colorectal cancer, cancer of the colon and rectum, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.You may be at a higher risk for colorectal cancer as you get older, but with education and screening,...

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Equal Time

Jane E. Herman, a BRCA2 mutation carrier, is the executive writer and editor at the Union for Reform Judaism. She also volunteers as an Outreach Coordinator for FORCE: Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered in New York City and blogs regularly about her BRCA journey and other slices of her life at JanetheWriter Writes…Earlier today, I promised my sister I wouldn't use social media to check in at the endoscopy center. And I didn't.However,...

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Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

Cary B. Aarons, MD, is an assistant professor of surgery in colon and rectal surgery. In this blog, he discusses surgical treatment of colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer diagnosed in the United States.Fortunately, the overall prognosis for treating colorectal cancer is quite favorable if it is discovered early. In fact, up to 90 percent of patients whose colorectal cancer is diagnosed and treated in the early...

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Show Us Your Blue!

The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) is a community that provides hope and support to patients and their families, while saving lives through screening, access, awareness, advocacy and research.Why should you wear blue? That’s the question the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) wants communities, businesses and individuals across the country (and even the world) to answer during its Dress in Blue Day™ program on Friday, March 7st. The CCA’s National Dress in...

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How a Pair of Genes Changed a Life

“Muir-Torre is a hiccup in my genetic repair cells that creates a high risk of many types of cancer. But ironically, this genetic mutation also saved my life.” -Julia*, cancer survivorJulia’s* cancer journey began in June 2009 when, at the age of 29, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer—a disease her mother Jane* battled and won years before. At the time of Julia’s diagnosis, Jane discovered she had Muir-Torre syndrome—a form of Lynch syndrome—...

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Julia’s Story: How a Pair of Genes Changed My Life

My story began in June 2009 when I found out that the word “genes” can mean more than something you wear on the weekends. The symptoms that would lead me to a startling discovery started right before my 29th birthday. I had long, heavy menstrual cycles for months that were blamed on generic birth control or hormones. In a visit to my gynecologist a polyp in my uterus was found. With my mother’s history of endometrial/uterine cancer I figured my...

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