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Predicting response to chemotherapy
Published on 2012-04-19 13:05:00
Predicting response to chemotherapy and likelihood of cancer recurrence is the name of the game these days. New tools are currently available for women diagnosed with breast cancer and include the OncotypeDX and Mammaprint tests. Both test help predict which early breast cancers are most likely to recur and can help guide treatment options. There are key differences between the tests so be > read more
A fantastic new BRCA decision tool
Published on 2012-04-16 09:00:00
Stanford University Medical School, specifically Dr. Allison W. Kurian and Dr. Sylvia K. Plevritis, have developed and published new online tool to help BRCA-positive women who have never been diagnosed with cancer make decisions about the impact of certain screening and surgical prevention options on the future risk of breast and ovarian cancer and of dying from these cancers. I didn't comment > read more
An open letter response to a Cornell Sun blog post
Published on 2012-04-13 12:37:00
This morning Google alerts picked up a blog post in the Cornell Sun that I felt I could not let pass without response. The student blogger was reporting on a class where testing for BRCA mutations and preventive surgery to avoid breast and ovarian cancer was much criticized by the lecturer. You can find the original blog post here. I could not leave this without response so I sent the > read more
Ovarian Cancer Research Needs You!
Published on 2012-02-23 12:03:00
A guest post from FORCE founder Sue Friedman about an important research need: If you were one of the high-risk women who participated in the large GOG-199 research study, thank you for helping advance critical research that will lead to better health outcomes for our community. Your continued participation in a related study, which is easy and involves only a simple annual questionnaire, will > read more
JAMA publishes new study on BRCA mutations and improved ovarian cancer survival
Published on 2012-01-25 14:16:00
Today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association includes an important new article on improved ovarian cancer survival for BRCA mutation carriers co-authored by Dr. Ora Gordon, co-author of Positive Results. A link to the JAMA article can be found here. A summary of the study's conclusion is that for patient's diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer, both BRCA1 mutations and > read more
Mastectomies: The five year update
Published on 2012-01-16 11:19:00
Five years ago today my husband drove me home from the hospital after my prophylactic mastectomies. I was nauseous in the car but anxious to be home in my own bed. My youngest son, who was eight at the time, was finding it difficult to sleep without me home. Once I was home, all was right in his world, regardless of the fact that I could do virtually noting for him. For the next week, after my > read more
Dr. Ora Gordon discusses preventing breast cancer on CBS
Published on 2011-12-08 16:24:00
A new report released this week concludes that there are lifestyle changes women can take to reduce breast cancer risk. As readers of Positive Results know, we devoted an entire chapter to this important topic and we welcome further research in this area, which is as of yet far from clear. Here is a short summary of the conclusions reached in the Institute of Medicine Report released this week > read more
Dr. Ora Gordon on CNN with Dr. Drew
Published on 2011-12-07 22:46:00
Here is the link to Dr. Gordon's CNN interview on Dr. Drew, which aired yesterday: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/12/06/exp-drew-breast-cancerr-hln.cnn This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the authors. > read more
Dr. Gordon on HLN Tonight!
Published on 2011-12-06 12:51:00
The news that Giuliana Rancic is planning bilateral mastectomies has brought the issue of preventive mastectomies back to the forefront of the news. This evening on HLN Dr. Ora Gordon and BRCA-positive friend Wendy K. will be on with Dr. Drew at 9 p.m. and midnight EST and 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PST discussing this! I don't know how much of the BRCA perspective will survive the editing room floor > read more
Yes Dorothy, Ovarian Cancer can start in the fallopian tubes
Published on 2011-10-16 15:14:00
As we discussed in Positive Results, researchers are finding an increasing number of BRCA-related ovarian cancers starting the lining of the fallopian tubes at the time of preventive surgery in BRCA-positive women. Here is the story of one such woman, who shares the intimate details of her surgery, pathology and diagnosis to help inform others about this risk: Click here to see all of her > read more
Secretary Sebelius statement for 2011 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Published on 2011-10-02 09:33:00
The following statement was released on September 30th by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: "For more than 25 years, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been a time to reaffirm our commitment to fighting breast cancer and to remind ourselves of the importance of prevention and early detection. Breast cancer remains one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers among > read more
National HBOC Week!
Published on 2011-10-01 14:56:00
It is National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week! Check out this important video: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the authors. > read more
Dr. Gordon on NPR's Talk of the Nation
Published on 2011-06-15 22:29:00
In case you missed Dr. Gordon on NPR's Talk of the Nation last week you can read or listen to the interview here. The subject was prevention and new treatments for cancer. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3 > read more
Dr. Gordon on NPR's Talk of the Nation
Published on 2011-06-15 22:29:00
In case you missed Dr. Gordon on NPR's Talk of the Nation last week you can read or listen to the interview here. The subject was prevention and new treatments for cancer. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3 > read more
Dr. Gordon on NPR's Talk of the Nation Today!
Published on 2011-06-07 13:13:00
Dr. Ora Karp Gordon will be on NPR's Talk of the Nation TODAY!! Check your local NPR listing for the broadcast time in your area! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Inquiries regarding ri > read more
Dr. Gordon on NPR's Talk of the Nation Today!
Published on 2011-06-07 13:13:00
Dr. Ora Karp Gordon will be on NPR's Talk of the Nation TODAY!! Check your local NPR listing for the broadcast time in your area! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Inquiries regarding ri > read more
BRCA Ovarian Cancer patients have better survival
Published on 2011-06-01 14:12:00
Early studies showed that BRCA carriers had better odds of surviving ovarian cancer than do women without these mutations. The National Cancer Institute has how done a large meta-analysis of the existing studies to date which confirms this survival > read more
BRCA Ovarian Cancer patients have better survival
Published on 2011-06-01 14:12:00
Early studies showed that BRCA carriers had better odds of surviving ovarian cancer than do women without these mutations. The National Cancer Institute has how done a large meta-analysis of the existing studies to date which confirms this survival > read more
Come see us on May 24 at the Cancer Support Community
Published on 2011-05-17 23:30:00
Just a reminder, if you live near Los Angeles your next opportunity to come see us is May 24th at the Cancer Support Community Benjamin Center. Our topic: High Risk Breast and Ovarian Cancer Update with Ora K. Gordon, MD and Joi Morrisauthors of > read more
Pay it forward
Published on 2011-05-09 07:17:00
"Pay it forward." These are words I hear often from women involved with FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. Women find our organization at a time when they are in desperate need of support and information, often after being diagnos > read more
Pay it forward
Published on 2011-05-09 07:17:00
"Pay it forward." These are words I hear often from women involved with FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. Women find our organization at a time when they are in desperate need of support and information, often after being diagnosed with br > read more
Happy Mother's Day
Published on 2011-05-08 12:47:00
"Mom? Where is the whisk?" "Mom? Where is the pancake pan?" "Mom? Where is the pancake recipe?" "Mom? How can I tell if the pancake batter is too thick?" "Mom? How do I turn it over?" These are > read more
Happy Mother's Day
Published on 2011-05-08 12:47:00
"Mom? Where is the whisk?" "Mom? Where is the pancake pan?" "Mom? Where is the pancake recipe?" "Mom? How can I tell if the pancake batter is too thick?" "Mom? How do I turn it over?" These are the sounds of my children making me breakfast on M > read more
A lost generation
Published on 2011-05-02 07:12:00
Well worth watching, and considering: This video was created for the AARP U@50 video contest and placed second. It has had more than 15,000,000 views on YouTube since it was posted three years ago. You can view the video here. This work is licen > read more
A lost generation
Published on 2011-05-02 07:12:00
Well worth watching, and considering: This video was created for the AARP U@50 video contest and placed second. It has had more than 15,000,000 views on YouTube since it was posted three years ago. You can view the video here. This work is licen > read more
How to hear the news
Published on 2011-04-28 07:00:00
Where were you when you learned about your BRCA mutation? Were you nestled safely inside the office of a genetic counselor who could answer your every question with your husband by your side or did you receive a telephone call with the results whil > read more
How to hear the news
Published on 2011-04-28 07:00:00
Where were you when you learned about your BRCA mutation? Were you nestled safely inside the office of a genetic counselor who could answer your every question with your husband by your side or did you receive a telephone call with the results whil > read more
Come see us on May 24 at the Cancer Support Community
Published on 2011-04-25 07:00:00
If you live near Los Angeles your next opportunity to come see us is May 24th at the Cancer Support Community Benjamin Center. Our topic: High Risk Breast and Ovarian Cancer Update with Ora K. Gordon, MD and Joi Morrisauthors of Positive Results > read more
Great book review from a doctor in Lituania
Published on 2011-04-23 19:14:00
Positive Results is available in many countries and we have blog readers from around the world. The following is a review of our book by a medical geneticist in Lituania on his blog, www.cancer-genetics.com from earlier this month: Positive book f > read more
Great book review from a doctor in Lituania
Published on 2011-04-23 19:14:00
Positive Results is available in many countries and we have blog readers from around the world. The following is a review of our book by a medical geneticist in Lituania on his blog, www.cancer-genetics.com from earlier this month: Positive book f > read more
Are we ready for a nuclear accident?
Published on 2011-04-22 19:55:00
The news out of Japan this week is that the government is getting serious about enforcing its 12 mile evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Reporters who have ventured into the zone report that the landscape to be surre > read more
Are we ready for a nuclear accident?
Published on 2011-04-22 19:55:00
The news out of Japan this week is that the government is getting serious about enforcing its 12 mile evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Reporters who have ventured into the zone report that the landscape to be surre > read more
Kickin' Cancer 2011
Published on 2011-04-17 20:16:00
Last year I celebrated my recovery from preventive surgery to remove my ovaries with a 5K run in the 9th Annual KICKIN’ CANCER! 5K Walk/Run & Women's Healthcare Expo to raise funds and awareness for the early detection and prevention of both ov > read more
Why go to the FORCE Conference?
Published on 2011-04-01 07:00:00
Check out this moving video from last year's Joining FORCEs Conference on why you should consider going this year. Take is from us (we have been!) there is nothing anywhere else that matches this conference for the breadth of information for high-ri > read more
Dr. Gordon tackles tough questions
Published on 2011-03-31 07:00:00
This past Sunday was the LA screening of Joanna Rudnick's film In the Family at the Disney Studios in Burbank. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with Joanna, Dr. Ora Gordon and Anya Prince, JD, a genetic discrimination expert with > read more
How
Published on 2011-03-29 10:45:00
We love the poem "How" from Martha Haley, which she read in the film In the Family (this is an abbreviation): How can I fight you, when you insist on sneaking up on me? How can I hide from you, for everywhere I go you try to find me? How c > read more
Dr. Oz agrees
Published on 2011-03-24 13:07:00
In one of my first blogs I mused over the radiation exposure from new airport screening devices, specifically backscatter scanners, which use x-rays to "see" under our clothing to determine if we are carrying anything dangerous. My blog w > read more
Radiation anyone?
Published on 2011-03-21 19:03:00
Beachgoers near San Diego with the San Onofre power plant in the backgroundNews coverage of the potential risks of radiation exposure is omnipresent these days thanks mostly to the ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan. For those of us who are > read more
An open letter to my breasts
Published on 2011-03-16 17:32:00
The following is a guest blog from my friend Jackie:Five years ago, I hated you. I couldn’t wait to get rid of you and never, ever look back. You had betrayed me. You betrayed my whole family.I stood there, exposing you for who you were, as the doc > read more
The tipping point
Published on 2011-03-11 13:38:00
I am a fan of Malcom Gladwell's book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Several years ago I saw him speak at UCLA and both the book and the talk made me realize the small thinks in my life that have formed > read more
Women CAN Handle the Truth–About Cancer OR Alzheimer’s
Published on 2011-03-07 13:49:00
Joi is again featured on the Ms. Magazine Blog:The BRCA genes were discovered in 1994 and 1995, but when you visited your doctor anytime from 1995 through the early 2000s, chances are that she or he did not recommend that you test for a mutation on t > read more
Los Angeles In the Family screening
Published on 2011-03-04 15:08:00
Please join us for a very special screening ofIn The Familywith filmmaker Joanna Rudnick, who is expecting her first childPresented byFORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer EmpoweredDATE: March 27, 2011TIME: 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.LOCATION: Disney StudiosBu > read more
Info about breast cancer in men
Published on 2011-03-03 11:55:00
Men with BRCA mutations, especially men with BRCA2 mutations are at significantly increased risk for breast cancer when compared with other men. Because only one percent of all breast cancers occur in men, it is often thought of as a woman's di > read more
Why go to the FORCE Annual conference?
Published on 2011-03-02 07:01:00
The Joining FORCEs conference is an annual forum on hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. We welcome anyone concerned about hereditary cancer: cancer survivors, high-risk individuals, those with a BRCA mutation or family history of cancer, and health > read more
Silver linings
Published on 2011-02-28 12:58:00
We often focus on the negative effects of surgical menopause to reduce ovarian cancer risk: the hot flashes, the sexual side effects, dry skin etc. But today I thought I would put together a list of the positive side of removing my ovarie > read more
Happy anniversary Positive Results!
Published on 2011-02-23 13:41:00
Today is the one year anniversary of the release of Positive Results!A lot has happened in the the past year and we would like to take this opportunity to give both a quick review of the highlights of the year and to say a heartfelt thank you to all > read more
Metastatic hereditary breast cancer research
Published on 2011-02-22 08:00:00
For those of you who have been to a FORCE LA Outreach meeting you have heard me talk about the importance of participating in research studies so that we will have better answers in the future for those facing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. &n > read more
Creating a safe space to talk about cancer risk
Published on 2011-02-21 12:52:00
Sue Friedman, founder of FORCE, Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, talks about surviving breast cancer, and how it led her to create a resource for at risk women to learn, ask questions and share their stories. After learning about her BRCA status, > read more
Breast cancer after prophylactic mastectomy?
Published on 2011-02-18 12:59:00
“You have breast cancer” are the last words any woman wants to hear. But women facing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk who opt for prophylactic mastectomies hope never to hear these words. Avoiding breast cancer is why these women take > read more
We CAN handle the truth
Published on 2011-02-14 07:01:00
The BRCA genes were discovered in 1994 and 1995 but when you visited your doctor those years, or even when you visited anytime until the early 2000s, chances are that your doctor did not recommend that you test for mutation on the BRCA genes. Why? &n > read more
Recovery Journal: Six months later
Published on 2011-02-07 07:01:00
This week marks six months since I had surgery to remove my ovaries and uterus plunging me into surgical menopause. I have had a number of requests for additional details of my recovery and menopause issues so I decided it is time for an update. &nbs > read more
World Cancer Day
Published on 2011-02-04 02:01:00
Today is World Cancer Day. Already this week I have received more than a dozen chain emails memorializing World Cancer Day and urging me to forward the burning candle to everyone I know to honor those affected by the disease.I have al > read more
Avastin: Is it still a choice?
Published on 2011-02-03 16:42:00
I know way too many women currently battling metastatic breast cancer. And I know way too many women who have died of this disease in the past few years. Statistics are one thing, names are another. This year, more than 200,000 women will > read more
I live in a bubble
Published on 2011-01-30 14:51:00
A BRCA bubble. I know a lot of women with BRCA mutations, and a lot of men too. I spend so much of my life talking with these fellow mutation carriers, doing research and writing, and doing work for FORCE that being a mutation carrier seems to me t > read more
Gaga for TaTas
Published on 2011-01-19 10:06:00
A fun and innovative way to raise awareness and money for a great cause! > read more
Slicing and dicing the estrogen data
Published on 2011-01-17 16:17:00
I love it when the headlines say I am doing the right thing! You may remember that in December one of the big headlines out of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium was:Estrogen Alone Provides Protective Effect in Breast Cancer Risk Redu > read more
It's complicated
Published on 2011-01-14 16:47:00
Part of the reason I did not do much blogging in the last couple of months of 2010 was that I was doing physical therapy for my shoulder. Although at first I did not recognize any connection between my shoulder problems and my mastectomies, it > read more
Is the jury still out?
Published on 2011-01-08 11:13:00
Prior to my prophylactic oophorectomy, my gynecologic oncologist told me unequivocally that my BRCA status required that my ovaries and fallopian tubes be removed but that I did not need to remove my uterus because my BRCA mutation did not raise > read more
Top 10 things I have learned about menopause
Published on 2011-01-04 15:17:00
It is impossible to sleep when you are hot.No more flannel pajamas.No more down comforters.Layers, layers, layers.Hot flashes always happen at 3 a.m.Vaginal drying/vaginal wall thinning are more than a nuisance, they are a pain!Acne does not always e > read more
Happy New Year
Published on 2011-01-02 18:07:00
Happy New Year!OK, it has been a while since I posted and the answer to why is a bit complicated. First, Ovarian Cancer Month and Breast Cancer Month back to back burned me out somewhat and I needed a mental break. Not that I ever got a c > read more
Flight attendant forced to remove prosthetic breast
Published on 2010-11-20 16:07:00
Mythbusters: Inheriting breast cancer risk from dad
Published on 2010-10-22 07:00:00
Truth or myth? "You don't need to worry about the breast and ovarian cancer on your dad's side of the family. You can't inherit breast cancer from your dad."Myth, 100% myth.There are lots of breast cancer myths out there but this is one of the > read more