August 7, 2012
In any big fight it helps to have someone in your corner and when it comes to breast cancer you want someone like Elyse Spatz Caplan and the people at Living Beyond Breast Cancer. Elyse, who herself was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 1991, oversees educational programming for Living Beyond [...]
August 6, 2012
Changes in DNA Underlie Cancer Cancer develops when normal cells in the body grow and reproduce uncontrollably because of “mistakes” in the DNA code. DNA (a copy of which is contained in each cell) contains finely tuned instructions for cell growth and production, but as cells copy and pass on this DNA [...]
August 3, 2012
Many expensive clinical trials fail because the therapy causes harmful side effects in some or all participants or the drug isn’t effective across the board. Genetics may explain differences in response, but as of today DNA testing isn’t a standard part of clinical trials. Integrating genetic testing [...]
August 2, 2012
Not all cancers are created equal. Ask anyone with metastatic breast cancer. For the 155,000 women in the United States living with this diagnosis, each day represents a constant fight against a cancer that has spread into other parts of their bodies — most often their bones, liver, lungs or brain. With [...]
August 1, 2012
Positive, helpful, and upbeat. These aren’t words you would expect to describe someone about to start another round of chemo treatment. However, in the case of Suzan Mickey, they are very apt. Mickey is a participant in the 23andMe and Genentech InVite study on bevacizumab (also known as Avastin®) and [...]
July 31, 2012
Earlier this year 23andMe and Genentech launched an online study of metastatic breast cancer to learn more about how genes might play a role in how a person responds to bevacizumab, also known as Avastin®. (Avastin® is not approved by the FDA for treatment of metastatic breast cancer.) Since women began [...]
May 8, 2012
A few of us from 23andMe attended the 6th Annual Conference for Women Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer two weekends ago in Philadelphia. This national conference is put on by a patient advocacy organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) that empowers women affected by breast cancer to live [...]
March 22, 2012
Clinical trials are often conducted at major hospitals and medical centers. As you can imagine, it can be expensive to use hospital resources and take a large amount of doctors’ and nurses’ time. It can also be difficult to find people to participate in clinical trials. For those who do [...]
