Amy Byer Shainman has spent more than a decade helping people understand the life-altering implications of genetic cancer-causing mutations. Now, she has a new outlet for everything she’s learned — a candid and grimly comedic film. 

“Love, Danielle,” available on streaming services, follows a fictional woman grappling with the discovery that, like 1 in 40 Ashkenazi Jews, she carries a BRCA1 gene mutation. It’s a darkly funny and intimate look at life as a cancer “previvor” — a portmanteau of “predisposition” and “survivor” used to describe someone who has not been diagnosed with cancer but has an increased risk of developing cancer due to an inherited genetic mutation or strong family history. READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Focus on HRT

 Why I’m Excited HRT Is Finally Getting Attention 

Author Georgia Hurst 

Georgia Hurst is a fierce patient advocate for those with Lynch syndrome.

Key Takeaways

• Early HRT initiation is crucial for women under 46 post-oophorectomy to reduce risks of heart disease, osteoporosis, and cognitive decline.
• The conversation around HRT has shifted from stigma to recognition of its essential role in women's health, especially post-surgical menopause.
• Recent research supports HRT's safety and benefits for women under 60 or within 10 years of menopause onset, enhancing quality of life.
• Increased awareness and open discussions have led to better pre-surgical counseling and support for women considering preventive surgeries.

Many fail to recognize that estrogen is necessary to help your body and its parts work in concert with each other seamlessly.  When I started writing for CURE more than 10 years ago, Read or listen to Georgia's full article HERE.

(HRT = Hormone Replacement Therapy)

'Love Danielle' film explores BRCA gene mutation impact

LOVE, DANIELLE out in North America!

Hi! I've been so busy traveling and promoting LOVE, DANIELLE on social media, that I just realized I forgot to post the film release here on my blog!        

“With LOVE, DANIELLE, we set out to tell a gripping, relatable story that not only entertains but enlightens,” said Amy Byer Shainman, Producer and BRCA Responder. “We hope it sparks conversation, encourages viewers to ask the right questions about their own health, and reminds people that being proactive can be powerful, even life-saving.” 

Read full press release HERE 

LOVE, DANIELLE now available in North America on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and other major platforms

WATCH THE OFFICIAL MOVIE TRAILER

September 16

Image from my memoir 

Resurrection Lily: The BRCA Gene, Hereditary Cancer & Lifesaving Whispers from the Grandmother I Never Knew.

Today I reflect on how lucky I am

I have access to great medical care.

I have a personality that is curious, researches, and demands 2nd and 3rd opinions.

I have intuition from Lillian, my grandmother I never knew.

I have knowledge from my sister Jan and my friend Kristin.

Knowledge that was instrumental in saving my life.

Knowledge I received only because of their cancer diagnoses and pain.

It's been 27 years today since I had potentially fatal fat and tissue removed from my brain; a brain tumor.

17 years since I had potentially fatal fat and tissue removed from my chest; my breast tissue.

17 years since I had all of my reproductive organs removed from body.

The potentially fat and tissue has been replaced with deep gratitude.

To mark September 16th every year, I get myself something 100% unnecessary and extravagant; just to remind myself,

I'm worth it.

This year, I can't do it.

As an advocate in the hereditary cancer space for 15 + years, I have a non-medical lump in my throat from a runway show. Yes, a runway show at New York Fashion Week.

I attended the AnaOno/Cancer Culture Show at NYFW and watched women with metastatic breast cancer fiercely walk the runway.

Some of them very young.

Since the show, I've felt two things: relief and being shaken to my core.

My good fortune is not lost on me.

▪️Metastatic breast cancer will at some point, cause their death.

▪️Only 2% of funding goes to MBC.

▪️116 women die everyday from metastatic breast cancer.

▪️Approximately 30% of breast cancer patients diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will go on to develop metastatic breast cancer (stage 4).

I'm thinking of these women, their day to day life, their medications, side effects, their families; thinking of friends who are now metastatic.

This year my extravagant gift goes to them via Cancer Culture funding to MBCure.

They are all 100% necessary and worth it.

Love, Danielle: BRCA Previvor Decision-Making [Podcast]

After receiving a positive genetic test result comes the hardest part: decision-making. On All Access DNA Podcast with Kate Wilson, Devin Sidell and I discuss why we made LOVE, DANIELLE, life after risk-reducing surgeries, and the power of storytelling. LISTEN HERE!

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