Sept 23, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- **September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month** **October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month**
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 200,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer this year. An estimated one in ten of these cases will be due to an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. BRACAnalysis, a simple blood test, detects mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Women who carry one of these gene mutations have up to an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and up to a 44 percent risk of developing ovarian cancer.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two genes that normally work to prevent breast and ovarian cancer. But in some cases, a person inherits, from either parent, a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene with an alteration. This alteration or mutation interferes with the normal activity of the gene, making a person more susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer. According to estimates, women with an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have a 56 to 87 percent risk to develop breast cancer by age 70, whereas the risk for women in the general population is only about 7 percent. Additionally, women with an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have a 27 to 44 percent risk to develop ovarian cancer by age 70, whereas the risk is less than two percent for women in the general population.
In an effort to reach women with a history of ovarian and breast cancers, The BRACAnalysis(R) Public Awareness Campaign has recently been launched in Texas and Florida. The initiative is designed to encourage women to talk to their healthcare providers about a hereditary risk assessment and the BRACAnalysis test.
SATELLITE FEEDS: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM ET 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM ET AMC 3 AMC 3 C-Band C-Band Transponder 14 Transponder 3 Downlink Freq. 3980 Vertical Downlink Freq. 3760 Horizontal
NEWS: Nearly 180,000 Women Will Learn That They Have Breast Cancer and More Than 22,000 Women Will Learn That They Have Ovarian Cancer This Year
FORMAT: B-roll and Soundbites
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Video, contact information and more available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/broadcast/34919/consumer.html
SOUNDBITES: * Courtney From Hirsch - Tested Positive for the BRCA Mutation * Rivka - Tested Positive for the BRCA Mutation * Patrick I. Borgen, M.D. - Chairman, Department of Surgery, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn * Gregory C. Critchfield, M.D.,M.S. - President, Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc. B-ROLL INCLUDES: * animation illustrating risk factors in women with the BRC1 or BRC2 gene * From family footage and photos * Lab footage
VIDEO PROVIDED BY: Myriad Genetics
Contact: FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL: MultiVu Media Relations, 1-800-653-5313 EXT. 3
SOURCE Myriad Genetics
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