After battling and overcoming ovarian cancer, Christine Hussey is no stranger to climbing mountains - literally! Christine made a goal of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with her husband and twin sons to help raise awareness for those who have been affected by the disease. Christine is a BRCA2 gene mutation carrier, as is her mother, another ovarian cancer survivor. Dr. Kara Maxwell, Basser's Men & BRCA program director, follows Christine for her cancer risk management.

A new study found that having BRCA mutations and having a close relative who has had breast cancer raised risk the most. Susan Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center, who was not involved in the study, said that as more people undergo BRCA testing, it’s critical to give them an accurate risk estimate—with family history or lack thereof being key in the equation.

Many women undergo genetic testing for gene mutations to assess breast cancer risk, but BRCA gene mutations also put men at higher risk, not just for breast cancer, but prostate and pancreatic cancer as well. Kara Maxwell, MD, PhD, director of the Men & BRCA Program at the Basser Center for BRCA, explained what men should know about genetic testing and cancer risk.

Kara Maxwell, MD, PhD, director of the Basser Center’s Men & BRCA program, was quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal story about how uncovering genetic mutations can guide treatment and prevention.

The golf event brought together elite athletes and entertainers, raising nearly $700,000 to support the Basser Center and Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition. Celebrity spouses, volunteers, and breast cancer survivors also put together “Friends Like Me” care packages to send to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients as part of Project Pink.

Susan M. Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center, joined “Tonight with Andrew Marr” to discuss recent progress in the field of cancer vaccine research. Domchek spoke about recruiting healthy people with BRCA mutations—which increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer—for a vaccine clinical trial aimed at preventing the disease.

Scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years. Susan M. Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center, and her work in recruiting healthy people with BRCA mutations for the vaccine test are mentioned.

The Deseret News covered efforts to create a vaccine for breast cancer. Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center, and Susan M. Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center, were quoted.

Jacquelyn Powers, MS, LCGC, associate director of Genetic Counseling at the Basser Center for BRCA, explained how genetic counseling and testing can identify cancer risk and help prevent or catch it early.

Katherine Nathanson, MD, the Pearl Basser Professor for BRCA-Related Research, commented on a large study about genetic sequencing for hereditary cancer syndromes presented at the AACR Annual Meeting in April 2023. She noted the results were consistent with other studies and reinforce the importance of taking a good family history to identify patients who should be referred to genetic counseling and testing.