Mutated BRCA gene is focus of panel on breast cancer awareness

Ten years after their daughter died of breast cancer, Edward and Merry Prostic of Mission Hills are spreading the word about the mutated gene that caused her illness. The first step is a program Thursday night featuring a panel of medical experts, as well as a few women who have the gene.

The BRCA genes made headlines a few years ago when actress Angelina Jolie found out she had the mutated genes and got a preventative double mastectomy.

The panel discussion will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lewis & Shirley White Theatre in the Jewish Community Center, 5801 W. 115th St.

Heading the panel will be Susan Domchek, executive director of the Basser Center for BRCA. Merry Prostic said that it seemed almost fitting that the place focusing on BRCA happened to be based at the University of Pennsylvania, her daughter Elizabeth’s alma mater.

When Elizabeth was given her diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, no one knew she had the mutated BRCA gene. Doctors tested her six months later, the day she died. She was only 31 and left behind a husband and a 10-month-old daughter.

Remembering Elizabeth with the panel program is “bittersweet, but it’s one of the things that helps me deal with the tragedy of losing a child,” said Merry Prostic. “If it helps one person, if it saves one life, it’s worth it.”

A series of webinars related to BRCA will be available in the coming months, she said.

The panel Thursday will include the latest information on BRCA, discussions about prophylactic surgery and a question and answer session with Domchek, a geneticist from the University of Kansas Cancer Center; a local breast cancer survivor who has the BRCA mutated gene and another local woman who found out she had the gene and had preventative surgery.

The Women’s Philanthropy group of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City is sponsoring Thursday’s event. One reason they’ve taken a special interest in the program is that the risk of having this gene mutation is much higher for Jewish women of Ashkenazi (European) heritage. Approximately one in 40 of these women will have the mutated gene, but it doesn’t always result in cancer.

“We are honored to be able to provide individuals, both Jewish and non-Jewish, with potentially lifesaving information from the leading experts in BRCA education and research,” said Lisa Schifman, director of Women’s Philanthropy and associate director of financial resource development for Kansas City’s Jewish Federation.

The genetic testing can be expensive, so the National Cancer Institute has outlined higher risk factors for the mutation, including Ashkenazi heritage, a family history of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer or a family member with cancer in both breasts, breast cancer before age 50 or male breast cancer.

Before each program sponsored by the Elizabeth Prostic Memorial Outreach Program, there will be a short film about Elizabeth and her life.

“Knowledge is power,” said Merry Prostic. “If we had known (about the gene), it might be another story. (The film) might have a different ending.”

To register for the free program, visit www.jewishkansascity.org/BRCA.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Mutated BRCA gene is focus of panel on breast cancer awareness."