When Marleah was 8 years old, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. When Marleah was in college, her mother had genetic testing done and learned that she carried a mutation in the BRCA2 gene. This finding explained the breast cancer in Marleah’s family and inspired Marleah’s career as a university professor, focused on communication and decision making surrounding hereditary cancer risk. Marleah met with a genetic counselor when she was in her PhD program but chose to wait until she was 25 before she had genetic testing done and learned that she also carried a BRCA2 mutation. Marleah shares her own journey as a previvor and discusses her ongoing work in the field.
Links and Resources
Marleah’s Tedx Talk: How to Make Decisions Based on Uncertain Information
Marleah as part of the CDC’s Bring Your Brave Campaign
Marleah’s campaign video for the CDC
Dean M, et al. “Shared Decision-Making Experiences of Couples with Inherited Cancer Risk Regarding Family Building.” J Health Commun. 2023 May 4;28(5):292-301.
https://www.facingourrisk.org/BOAST/
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
Connect with Marleah on Social Media
Marleah on Twitter @marleahdeank
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