Knowledge is Power: What You Need to Know About Hereditary Cancer Risk
Wed., October 23, 7 p.m. at the East Brunswick Public Library, 2 Jean Walling Civic Center.
Since the discovery of the BRCA mutations that increase the risk of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate and other cancers in women and men, our knowledge of hereditary cancer has grown exponentially.
In this informative program, medical and genetics experts from the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, along with a BRCA-positive “previvor,” will discuss how individuals can understand, determine and reduce hereditary cancer risk for themselves and their families.
The program is free and open to the public.
Speakers:
Dr. Deborah L. Toppmeyer is chief medical officer and director of the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center and medical director the LIFE Center at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (RCINJ) and chief of medical oncology. She is a professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Sherry Grumet is a licensed, board-certified genetic counselor working as program director of the LIFE Center at The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. She has over 20 years of clinical experience in cancer risk assessment and genetic counseling. She is on the faculty of the Rutgers School of Arts & Sciences.
Abby Grayson is a licensed professional counselor who is BRCA1-positive and a “previvor.” Grayson discovered her hereditary risk after a friend, Sheryl Lanman Nichols, urged her to get tested. Nichols, who grew up in East Brunswick, died of breast cancer at 34 in 2015.
Information also will be available from organizations that provide education and support on hereditary cancers.
The program is sponsored by the East Brunswick Chapter of Hadassah and the East Brunswick Public Library. It is coordinated by East Brunswick resident Sandra Lanman in memory of her daughter, Sheryl Lanman Nichols. For further information, email ebprogramming@gmail.com.
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