- For the Breast of Us BADDIE BLOGS Our mission is to empower women of color affected by breast cancer to make the rest of their lives the best of their lives through education, advocacy and community.
There are more ways than ever to dig into your genetic makeup, whether in a medicalsetting or at home with a test you ordered online. But what happens if you find out thatyour genes put you at greater risk of hereditary cancer? Navigating a family history ofcancer and trying to determine what it means for you is a heavy weight to carry alone.The terms can be confusing, the questions can seem overwhelming, and the medicaldecisions might feel daunting. Finding credible guidance and people who trulyunderstand your experience makes all the difference.
These are a few of the many reasons FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered)exists.
Almost 27 years ago, FORCE’s founder, Sue Friedman, learned she carries a BRCA2mutation and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She built FORCE because she neededa community that didn’t exist at the time. Today, many of the organization’s teammembers have a personal connection to hereditary cancer. For people who face a newgene mutation diagnosis or cancer caused by a gene mutation, we understand whereyou are physically and emotionally. In many cases, we’ve been there too.
Growing with the Science
When FORCE started, BRCA1 and BRCA2 were the primary genes on everyone’sradar. Since then, the field has changed dramatically, and FORCE has evolved rightalong with it. Today, our community includes people with a personal or family history ofcancer, Lynch syndrome, inherited mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, CHEK2, PALB2,and in other genes linked to cancer. Many in our community have an inherited mutationor elevated risk but have not had cancer. FORCE coined the term “previvor” to give thisgroup their own identity and a sense of belonging.
Perhaps most critically, we work to reach the estimated 90% of people living with aninherited mutation who don’t yet know it. Because knowledge really can save lives.
Serving Our Community
FORCE’s work is organized around five core program areas: education, public policy,research, support, and partnerships. We provide up-to-date, expert-reviewedinformation and resources that help people make informed medical decisions. We alsoserve as the champion and de facto voice of the hereditary cancer and previvorcommunity, unifying while advocating for awareness, access to care, and bettertreatment and prevention options.
But the best way to understand FORCE is to see it in action. Here are just a few of theways we support, encourage, and enable our community:
We host monthly virtual support groups, organized by gene mutation, community, orsteps for making a surgical decision. We have groups to match everyone’s needs:distinctive groups for breast cancer survivors, people in treatment, one specifically forBlack and African American community members, and many more.
We are here to help, wherever you are in the hereditary cancer, high-risk experience.Anyone is welcome to join. Just listen in, if that’s how you’re most comfortable. Or, askquestions—when you do, you’ll likely find out that you’re not the only one who wants toknow the answer. By just listening or participating, you’ll likely also learn aboutquestions you haven’t yet thought about! More importantly, we provide the answers tothose questions.
FORCE also established the first National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Weekand National Hereditary Cancer Week to serve as an annual rallying cry to raiseawareness. We host regular Ask the Experts webinars that bring hereditary cancerspecialists directly to our community. Recent sessions have covered everything fromgynecologic cancer risk and prevention to the latest in targeted therapies.
Our XRAY program breaks down cancer research headlines in the media, assessingwhat the science says versus what the news coverage implies. XRAY reports connectthe dots in a way that is factual, credible, and easy to understand.
On the policy side, FORCE actively works to improve coverage for genetic testing,supplemental screenings, and cancer therapies at the state and federal levels. It isimportant to us to be a steady, strong voice advocating for awareness, access to care,research for better prevention and treatment options, and, ultimately, a cure.
Research participation today shapes the options that exist tomorrow. FORCE makes iteasier for our community to get involved through our Search and Enroll Tool, matchingpeople to clinical trials and research studies. It provides plain-language explanations ofwhat each study involves, who qualifies, and how to get connected.
You’re Why We’re Here
Partners like For the Breast of Us are essential to FORCE’s mission. The hereditarycancer community is incredibly diverse, and no single organization can do the workalone. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, making a medical decision, or simply trying tounderstand how hereditary cancer impacts your family, FORCE is here to help youalong the way.
Visit us at facingourrisk.org. No one should have to face hereditary cancer alone.
