Rachel Abramowitz

BRCA Testing – What you Should Know

November 5, 2018 by Rachel Abramowitz

Guest blog by Penn Medicine

Originally published at https://www.pennmedicine.org/cancer/about/focus-on-cancer/2018/october/basser-founder-outreach-study.

Everyone—both men and women—is born with BRCA1 and BRCA2genes, which normally repair DNA and help suppress tumors. However, when someone is born with an error (mutation) in a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, the genes fail to do their tumor-suppressing work.

The risk of breast cancer for women with BRCA1/2 mutations is so heightened that the gene is named after the disease: BReast CAncer. Mutations in the genes also increase the lifetime risk of ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma.

BRCA1/2 mutations are hereditary, which means if you or a family member carry a mutation, other members of your family may also carry it.

Factors that may indicate a family history of BRCA1/2 mutations include:

A breast cancer diagnosis before age 50
Instances of breast and ovarian cancers in the same woman or side of family
Male breast cancer
Cancer in both breasts

However, if you have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, there are steps you can take to reduce and manage your cancer risk.

BRCA Research, Treatment and Prevention Center at Penn

The first of its kind, Penn Medicine’s Basser Center for BRCA is a comprehensive program devoted to eradicating the devastating effects of BRCA-related cancers. With support from the Abramson Cancer Center, the Basser Center for BRCA sits at the very forefront of research, treatment and prevention of hereditary cancers.

Home to many of the most experienced leaders in the field, the Basser Center is led by Executive Director Susan Domchek, MD, who, along with Director of Genetics Kate Nathanson, MD, has made Basser the nucleus of BRCA gene research and testing in the country.

But the work being done at Basser isn’t just investigative and clinical. The Basser team develops relationships with their patients that can last years. Being hereditary, BRCA gene mutations are often shared by family members, which means the Basser team may end up working with generations of mutation carriers—mothers, fathers, daughters, sons and grandchildren.

“We’re in it for the long term with families,” said Dr. Domchek. “We’re with these women through dating, marriage and children. It’s a true privilege that happens so rarely in medicine.”

A global nexus of BRCA-related research and treatment, the Basser Center fosters innovation both at Penn and worldwide. Various Basser Grants are available to scientists, clinicians and investigators whose visionary BRCA1/2 work deserves support. The annual Basser Global Prize provides $100,000 to one chosen luminary in the field.

The Basser Scientific Symposium, held every May, offers a comprehensive “Update on Hereditary Cancer.” Experts from around the world are invited to present on the many advances in the research of heritable cancers as well as the medical management of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

Among those many new and cutting-edge advancements is the Basser Center’s BFOR study.

Genetic Testing Through the BRCA Founder Outreach Study

A new research initiative being pioneered at Penn’s Basser Center and other cancer centers across the country the BRCA Founder Outreach Study—or just the BFOR study—is dedicated to developing and integrating new methods of genetic testing into medical care.

In the past, BRCA-related genetic testing was reserved for men and women with a known personal or family history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer or prostate cancer. But this approach misses many people who have BRCA1/2 mutations. In addition, many of those with a family and personal history of cancer do not get genetic testing. It is estimated that as many as 80% of BRCA mutation carriers in the US do not know their BRCA1 or BRCA2 status.

The BFOR study seeks to improve these numbers.

Now open in Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Los Angeles, the BFOR study is offering men and women of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish ancestry genetic testing for BRCA mutations at no cost. These mutations increase risk for breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancer. The testing is provided with medical support from experts in cancer genetics. Individuals with Ashkenazi ancestry have been selected for the study, as one in 40 have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

After testing, results will be shared with each participant by either the participant’s PCP or a BFOR cancer genetics specialist.

The results of a BRCA test do not predict whether or not a study participant will develop cancer—but results can indicate the likelihood. Understanding if you or someone you love tests positive for a BRCA1/2 gene mutation opens the door to various approaches to cancer prevention, including early screenings, preventive surgery or medication.

Experts also believe that as much as 40% of all cases of ovarian cancer among women of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry could be prevented through a combination of early BRCA genetic testing and risk-reducing surgery.

More people who know they’re BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers means more people who can get started on fighting cancer before they have it.

Register for the BFOR study, or visit our FAQ page for more information. Learn more about the Basser Center for BRCA and Penn’s Cancer Risk Evaluation Center.

Twelve Great Things about Working at Tribe 12

June 27, 2018 by Rachel Abramowitz

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We’re hiring a new Engagement Associate to join our awesome team! Here are twelve reasons why you should apply…

1. You’ll never be hungry!

At Tribe 12, we love eating! It’s not uncommon to have an Oreo taste test at staff meeting when a new flavor comes out, or an afternoon walk to get ice cream. That extends to work events, where it’s likely we’ll get a fully loaded staff dinner before a First Thursday Happy Hour or buy tons of tots for the table at a pop-up sips. Twelve orders of fries, please!

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2. We’re not like regular staff, we’re cool staff.

Working for Tribe 12 is fun because the Tribe 12 staff is fun! It’s not uncommon to see “mandatory staff fun time” pop into your calendar or walk into the office to Michael Jackson blasting for a mid-morning dance break.

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3. Super flexible hours!

Flex-day Fridays? Unlimited vacation days? Flexible schedule that is what you make it? Ability to work from home? Count me in!

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4. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

We know we’re not performing brain surgery here, and we make sure that we remember that! When we fail, we fail fast and pick ourselves back up and try again. When we succeed, we celebrate our team and work on building our next success.

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5. Drinking on the job!

Between bar crawls and happy hours, we don’t just allow drinking (responsibly) on the job, we encourage it! (responsibly). Some of our staff choose not to drink or live a sober lifestyle and we say three cheers to their choices too!

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6. Generous professional development opportunities

Each Tribe 12 employee gets a hefty professional development budget to attend conferences, take classes, get certifications, or use otherwise to advance their professional careers. In the past, our staff members have gone to conferences as far as Atlanta, Chicago, LA, and Israel! We believe that when an individual grows and learns, we all do!

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7. We celebrate being weird.

You’re weird? Us too! We love people who think out of the box, who are creative and find unique solutions to problems. Tribe 12 encourages all of our staff members to be themselves, try new things and get a little weird with it!

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8. Casual Friday every day

It’s hard to have fun in a pants suit. That’s why we have a relaxed dress code that allows our staff to express themselves and be ready for any impromptu office dance sessions that may come our way.

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9. Take the wheel, matey!

At Tribe 12, not only do you get to have a hand in a whole lot of different things, but you actually get to make a difference in those things. We want you to steer the ship! It’s important to us that everyone has a say in where we’re going and how we’re getting there.

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10. Our network is freaking awesome.

Like basically everyone we work with is just super cool (think: adult summer camp). Even our vendors, photographers, fellows, volunteers and like random friends that hang around our office sometimes are cool, fun, hip and crazy unique individuals who are killin it in their professional and personal lives. #puttogethergoofballs

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11. We’re TECHnically nerds.

Tribe 12 prides ourselves on being on the cutting edge of technology! We love finding ways to collect and use data, automate our UX, pioneer new website functionality, and spread our mission through digital advancement.

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12. Tribe 12 is just the best!

Where else do you get all of these perks AND actually make a livable salary? I know it seems too good to be true… BUT IT’S REAL! Get a friend to slap you and then apply to be Tribe 12’s next Engagement Associate! Now! What are you doing still sitting here reading this? Go! Apply! Live your best life! We look forward to reading your application.

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Kosher Threshold

April 2, 2018 by Rachel Abramowitz

Have you ever cringed at the thought of having a large roast ham at the center of your Thanksgiving table? Or realized that your mom would never put cheese on your turkey sandwiches growing up and wondered what that was about? Well I definitely did. And I love pork ribs and have never even remotely ever thought (not even a little inkling of a thought) about keeping Kosher (nor was I raised in an even remotely Kosher household) so I didn’t understand what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I even contemplate eating a delicious ham at the center of my meal without getting chills of discomfort? And why did I feel the incredible urge to always take the cheese off my turkey hoagies but not my tuna hoagies?

This was all terribly concerning to me… until I started talking about it. The more I talked to other Jews the more I realized I wasn’t alone. There was something uniquely pervasive about certain foods, habits and styles of eating and cooking that straddled all of our unique Jewish-nesses. I like to call it the “Kosher Threshold.”

Everyone has a different iteration of this phenomenon. My friend has no problem with eating all the shrimp in the world, but will literally gag at the thought of a slab of bacon or sausage. Kosher threshold. My coworker who was raised Kosher grew up absolutely sure that pork fried rice was totally fine to eat. Kosher threshold. My mom yelled at me the other day for roasting a 5lb pork shoulder. The 2lb pot roast we made last week “sounded delicious” but when I said we were roasting 5lbs… 5lbs of pork is her Kosher threshold.

But this idea of a Kosher threshold I think holds so much more than funny family anecdotes and quirky food issues. I think the idea of Kosher threshold embodies the unspoken and often overlooked connection that we as American Jews share with our ancestors. It’s easy to think because I am obsessed with bacon ice cream that my eating habits are in no way connected to the generations that came before me. Yet every time I nonsensically pick the cheese off my turkey sandwich, I’m connecting with my mom who did that, who was connecting with her mom who would never dream to eat cheese and turkey sandwiches because of her mother and her grandmother and so on as far back as anyone can remember.

Residing in all of our subconscious is a historical guide to our culture that we don’t even realize affects the way we live our lives (because literally 99.7% of life revolves around food) but does so every single day.

And that’s pretty damn cool.

#Noshgiving

November 21, 2017 by Rachel Abramowitz

This post was originally published on #NoshGoals, a side project from our Engagement Associate, Rachel Abramowitz. See the original post here.

When you think about it, I really think Thanksgiving is basically a Jewish holiday. All we do is eat, gossip, fight over seating arrangements and complain about how full we are… and best part is there aren’t even any presents involved.

For me (because I’m oblivious to everything else in the room when there’s food on my plate), I didn’t even realize literally until I sat down to write this how Jew-y my thanksgiving even is. I guess I kinda just thought everyone had latkes and challah in their cornucopia. Also, I recently found out some people eat HAM at their thanksgiving meal. I mean, no offense to those of you who do this but like, WHAT?? Ham? Really?! I don’t keep kosher, nor have I ever kept kosher, but the thought of going out and spending money to buy an entire ham to eat as a main course for a meal somehow crosses some kashrut threshold for me… but I digress.

Here are some of my favorite turkey day recipes… without any ham involved.

Thanksgiving Latkes

Sweet!… Potato. Start by grating up a few sweet taters, add in one egg per two potatoes, scallions, salt and pepper. Form into patties. Fry ’em up real nice and crispy then top with sour cream and some cranberry jam/sauce.

Brussels Sprouts (…without bacon)

First, roast or fry some brussels (halved, with salt and pepper and a little olive oil if you decide to roast in the oven) till they’re crispy. While they cook, mix in a bowl soy sauce/fish sauce, maple syrup, sriracha, garlic, lime juice. You can do about even amounts of everything, although for me I like extra soy sauce and lime, while I go easy on the sriracha. So just go with your taste. Mix the cooked brussels sprouts with the sauce while they’re still hot and serve. These are so good and while not traditional thanksgiving, a nice zesty and parve addition to the table.

Mom’s Famous Cornbread Stuffing

This right here is my favorite thing on the thanksgiving table, no doubt. You start by caramelizing 2 white onions with butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add a few chopped sage leaves, and mix with cubed cornbread (the ratios later work for about 4-5 large muffins worth of cornbread). Salt and pepper liberally. In a small bowl, mix 2 eggs, about a half a cup of cream (or other dairy type liquid… I’m sure you could also just double the stock if you don’t want dairy here) and about half a cup of stock (I use chicken stock but you can also use veggie stock). Mix this in gently with the cornbread and put back in the skillet. Bake at 375 until the stuffing is set and it’s crusty on top (about 30 mins). You can also add turkey sausage to the stuffing if you wanna get fancy with it. I usually add that turkey sausage they sell with apples in it, which I have to say adds a nice salty and sweetness to the stuffing.

Fall Salad

Check here for lots of fall recipes… including this awesome salad!

Happy Thanksgiving from Tribe 12 Team! Check out Thanksgiving-week events in Philly on gobejewish.com and this dinnertime discussion guide from Repair The World.

What’s Your #TribeVibe ?

November 13, 2017 by Rachel Abramowitz

Looking for a home in Philly’s Jewish community? Our name, Tribe 12, is an homage to the twelve unique tribes who inhabited the land of ancient Israel, and by the same token we created Tribe 12 Tribes — volunteer-run communities bonded by a common interest or identity.

At Tribe 12 we truly believe there is a Jewish community for everyone. No matter the interest or affinity group, Tribe 12 Tribes provide a ton of different outlets for getting involved — and if we don’t have the community you’re seeking, we’ll help you build it!

Take Lauren, an active member of our new Women’s Tribe. She said that she’s “been seeking a community where members can learn, exchange ideas, and support each other in a relaxing setting.” She was excited to find that at our events: “that’s exactly what I get from my Tribe!”

Right now, Tribe 12 has about a half dozen active Tribes, including an A Capella Group, Fantasy Football, Kickball, 30-Somethings, and a Women’s Tribe. These Tribes are constantly changing so there are always new events and groups popping up! Looking forward, we have volunteers ready to expand our Tribes collection to include a health-focused subgroup for our Women’s Tribe, a new 20-somethings Tribe, and a new Theater Tribe. We hope to get to 12 soon! #TribeGoals

Dave adds a sticker to the football draft board at a sports bar — Dave running the draft board at one our Fantasy Football drafts this year

Tribe 12 Tribes host events throughout the year – sometimes on a regular basis (monthly, for example) and sometimes with a bit more random scheduling. Be sure to check our community calendar, gobejewish.com, for all upcoming events, including Tribe events. Plus, you can browse our Tribes, sign up, or contact individual Tribes on our Tribes page.

Our LGBTQ Tribe is currently our biggest and most active Tribe, with a bunch of different affinity groups popping up inside it! Right now, this includes a social community, a trans-rights community, and an education & volunteering community. Info about these communities and our LGBTQ Tribe in general can be found at tribe12.org/lgbtq. In fact, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s newsletter recently ran a feature on our LGBTQ Tribe!

Two young men leaning over a table with a rainbow flag on it. One is chatting and the other is adding his email to a list. — Ryan welcomes new LGBTQ Tribe members at Tribe 12’s table at Outfest earlier this month

Start Your Own Tribe!

Don’t see the perfect fit? The volunteers who run our Tribes are all graduates of the Tribe 12 Fellowship, an elite cohort of passion-driven people launching socially responsible business and projects. Through their four months in our Fellowship, some Fellows build businesses, non-profits, art installations, innovative projects… and sometimes they start Tribes!

Take Maryana and Igor, Tribe 12 regulars who didn’t feel like the happy hour scene was for them when they had a baby. They created the New Parent Tribe, a place to share Jewish experiences with other young parents.

Applications for the Tribe 12 Fellowship are open NOW through November 19th! Consider applying for the chance to build something you’re passionate about. You can learn more at tribe12.org/apply-today, and Tribe 12 staffers Rachel and Adam are always down for coffee or an after-work drink to discuss!