I Got All My Sisters With Me
Jane E. Herman, a BRCA2 mutation carrier volunteers as an Outreach Coordinator for FORCE: Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered in New York City and blogs regularly about her BRCA journey and other slices of her life at JanetheWriter Writes…
Looking forward to the 8th Annual Joining FORCEs Conference in Philadelphia, June 12-14, Jane reflects on her time in college and a recent patient education and support conference:
A generation ago at this season, I attended a number of sorority semi-formals at my alma mater. At the time, the school [had an active Greek life on campus]. Invariably, each of these spring events--no matter the sorority--closed with the DJ "spinning" Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" as all the young women gathered on the dance floor, linking arms and singing along as a gaggle of young men watched from the sidelines.
I was reminded of this scene last Wednesday evening at FORCE's NYC Spring Celebration 2014: Live Life Empowered.
The organization's inaugural benefit event featured two of my BRCA sisters, Stacey Sager and Kara DiGuardio in a joyful celebration of the organization that is the unequivocal voice of the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) community.
In addition to providing resources, education, and support to individuals and families at risk for hereditary cancer, FORCE advocates on our behalf within the medical, pharmaceutical, and policy arenas.
This helps to ensure that we don't encounter discrimination, insurance snafus, or other obstacles as we--individually and collectively--deal with the inevitable roller coaster ride that comes along with our attempts to ensure, to the extent possible, that our genetics don't dictate our destiny.
Looking forward to the 8th Annual Joining FORCEs Conference in Philadelphia, June 12-14, Jane reflects on her time in college and a recent patient education and support conference:
A generation ago at this season, I attended a number of sorority semi-formals at my alma mater. At the time, the school [had an active Greek life on campus]. Invariably, each of these spring events--no matter the sorority--closed with the DJ "spinning" Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" as all the young women gathered on the dance floor, linking arms and singing along as a gaggle of young men watched from the sidelines.
I was reminded of this scene last Wednesday evening at FORCE's NYC Spring Celebration 2014: Live Life Empowered.The organization's inaugural benefit event featured two of my BRCA sisters, Stacey Sager and Kara DiGuardio in a joyful celebration of the organization that is the unequivocal voice of the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) community.
In addition to providing resources, education, and support to individuals and families at risk for hereditary cancer, FORCE advocates on our behalf within the medical, pharmaceutical, and policy arenas.
This helps to ensure that we don't encounter discrimination, insurance snafus, or other obstacles as we--individually and collectively--deal with the inevitable roller coaster ride that comes along with our attempts to ensure, to the extent possible, that our genetics don't dictate our destiny.
If you are looking for BRCA family, join Penn Medicine’s Basser Research Center for BRCA and FORCE at the 8th Annual Joining FORCEs Conference in Philadelphia, June 12-14.
Read about the rest of Jane’s evening at the FORCE celebration in New York City.
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