At age 31, Joanna Rudnick of Chicago tested positive for the BRCA genetic mutation associated with breast and ovarian cancer. The science journalist documented her personal journey to educate herself about preventive measures in the film In the Family. ASCP President Barbara J. McKenna, MD, FASCP, joined Rudnick and others in a panel discussion about the film following a screening on June 9, 2009, at the John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital in Chicago. The other panelists were internist Pamela Ganschow, MD, Director of Stroger Hospital Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening; Christina Seelaus, MS, Genetic Counselor, Stroger Hospital Cancer Risk Program; and breast cancer survivor Martha Darlene Liddell Haley of Chicago.
In the film Rudnick explores family history, genetic testing, surgical options, and Myriad Genetics’ controversial patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes—which ASCP opposes as a plaintiff in the American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the company and the U.S. Patent Office. At the panel discussion, Dr. McKenna shared ASCP’s concern about gene patents and reasons for joining the ACLU lawsuit. “We think it’s wrong to patent products of nature,” she said, adding that gene patents limit the availability of diagnostic tests to the uninsured and discourage further research. Dr. McKenna also told the audience that it is important for ASCP members, as health care providers and as possible patients, to be educated about gene patents and their implications.
For more about the film, the lawsuit, and ASCP’s position on gene patents, follow these links:
http://inthefamily.kartemquin.com/film
www.ascp.org/aclu
www.aclu.org/brca