Thanks to your support, this year’s annual Cheryl Diamond NYC 5K Schlep proved to be a major success as over 300 participants and supporters came to fight against Breast and Ovarian Cancer and raise money for the Rabin Medical Center’s BRCA Gene Multidisciplinary Clinic. The clinic serves women at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer and is currently conducting a nutritional intervention study to determine if nutrients in cruciferous vegetables can decrease breast cancer in BRCA gene mutation carriers, thus saving lives of this high-risk population.

Dr. Yerushalmi has provided the latest information from the BRCA Gene Multidisciplinary Clinic at the Davidoff Cancer Center at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center.

Please continue supporting the Clinic through the following link: afrmc.kintera.org/schlep15

FACTS:

10% of breast cancer patients carry a mutation in the BRCA genes

Women who carry the gene mutation have up to 80% chance of developing cancer primarily of breast and ovarian origin.

Healthy individuals harboring a BRCA mutation constitute a high-risk population with unique needs, often overlooked by health authorities.

Rabin Medical Center created a specialized service aimed specifically at this high risk population, comprising a highly experienced, multidisciplinary team of health professionals, with the ability to support the medical and emotional needs of this population.

The clinic has served 318 women since its initiation in 2011

The mean age of patients at the Clinic is 46 years old.


• With a median follow-up of 46 months, 21 women have developed malignancies.
• Of these, 17 breast cancers, one ovarian cancer and 3 additional cancers: Hodgkin Lymphoma, Oropharynx carcinoma and Cervix carcinoma.
• 16 out of 17 patients who developed breast cancer were diagnosed with stage I disease.

The Multidisciplinary Clinic for BRCA mutation carriers provides a home away from home for a unique population with unmet needs.

The high rate of BSO (Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy—removal of all female reproductive organs) in women before reaching the natural menopause, reflects the awareness of this population and the care-givers to established international guidelines. It should be emphasized that this rate is higher than described in other registries.

We believe that a dedicated clinic, which is comprised of a multidisciplinary team is likely to contribute to the BRCA carriers' health and quality of life and survival.