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What does classical music have to do with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer?

This fall at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, the fifth season of PREformances with Allison Charney begins, with funds raised benefiting The Basser Research Center for BRCA of Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center and programs at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan that promote early detection of cancer and care for those living with breast and ovarian cancer.

Given that one in forty carrier individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry carries a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, the series also plays an important role in educating the community about hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer.

PREformances affords celebrated classical musicians the opportunity to try out new concert repertoire in front of understanding audiences prior to performing it in major venues.

Read the Examiner article on PREformances and hear Allison Charney sing here.

The Basser Research Center for BRCA at Penn Focuses on BRCA1 and BRCA2

The Basser Research Center for BRCA supports research on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, harmful forms of which are linked to greatly increased risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer. The Center is named in honor of Mindy Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44.

The Basser Research Center for BRCA was established with a $25 million gift to the University of Pennsylvania from alumni Mindy and Jon Gray.

Emphasizing outreach, prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship, the Basser Research Center for BRCA will contribute to all stages of research and clinical care relevant to BRCA-related cancers.