Please learn more about Amy and the AKR Foundation at: www.amykrouserosenthalfoundation.org
Please join me in supporting the Foundation’s annual
Yellow Umbrella Campaign here:
www.amykrouserosenthalfoundation.org/campaign
“It’s probably not that simple.” And “BRCA mutations are rare.” That is what I was told by my late wife’s doctor when my wife was first diagnosed with cancer. I was pushing for my wife to have genetic testing because of her family’s cancer history and a second-degree relative’s recently-provided positive BRCA2 mutation report. Her doctor was hesitant but eventually agreed to refer my wife for testing.
It was that simple.
My wife had inherited a BRCA2 mutation (which our daughter also inherited) and was diagnosed with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome. Had her relative’s report not been kept unshared for seven years, it would have saved her life.
And “rare.”?
This infographic represents only BRCA genes. To date, there are about 50 other genes associated with hereditary cancer syndromes. And that’s just the number of genes, not the total number of mutations possible.
Look at the chart and do the math. It will be eye-opening.
Please share. Knowledge is power. Hereditary cancer can be prevented.
As a freelance illustrator, sometimes something you create takes on a life of its own* and you see it being used all over the place. With it getting to be back-to-school time, I thought I’d share this.
This particular piece of art was created many years ago for the Discovery (Channel) Education Clip Art Gallery. I often see it (and rip-offs of it) as well as a lot of the hundreds of other pieces of clip art from the Gallery I created. I even saw some of my clip art being used at the chemotherapy infusion center where my late wife was being treated for metastatic hereditary cancer. Which, I might add, was actually heartbreaking on many levels.
Way back in 1999, there were basically no free online clip art galleries for educators, so Discovery licensed my whimsical collection for exclusive use. I had originally created much of the clip art for my elementary school teacher wife to use in the classroom and in newsletters to parents. Discovery used my clip art collection for twenty years until the contract expired and they changed their focus. However, since I still owned all rights to the artwork, I created my own website where the art can be downloaded for use by educators gratis at www.EducatorClips.com.
If you want to learn more about the history of my clip art, please visit the site. And if you ever want to see how others are using the posted image, just do a “thinking cap” image web search.
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*As you might imagine, my Thinking Cap art is just one of numerous creations to take on lives of their own. And sometimes it can be very frustrating. My Chartpak International Typeface Competition winner, La Fiesta (aka Tijuana), is an example of that.
Nobody should die of a preventable cancer. Nobody!
The cartoon can also be viewed in a larger format at https://markix.net/brain/
I celebrate Previvor Day every day, but more so on Father’s Day.
For those unfamiliar with the term, a previvor is someone who has not been diagnosed with cancer but is at a higher risk for cancer due to certain inherited genetic mutations (BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, ATM, PALB2, TP53, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, etc., etc.). Being a previvor does not mean you will get hereditary cancer; there are ways to reduce the risk. But those choices can be life-altering.
My daughter is a previvor.
Imagine being in your 20s and watching your mother die a horrific death caused by a pathogenic genetic mutation that you had just recently learned that you also carry. Then having to face all the life-changing medical decisions and procedures to reduce your cancer risk without your beloved mother by your side. That takes exceptional courage.
Genomic science has given my child, who has grown into a kind, creative, and confident scientist, a chance to live a full life cancer-free, something her mother did not get. Because of laws and attitudes still stuck in the last century, information that would have saved her mother’s life did not get shared.
Father’s Day gives me another opportunity to advocate for hereditary cancer awareness and prevention. And prevention starts with knowing and sharing family health/cancer history — both maternal AND paternal.
Everyone has tumor suppressor genes like BRCA (BReast CAncer) 1 and 2. Mutations in those and other genes can cause many different cancers. And knowing that genetic mutations can be passed down for generations from fathers as well as mothers can be life-saving.
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers of previvors.
Life is fragile. Knowledge is power.
When I was my late wife's cancer caregiver, I often found myself trying to explain to others about her diagnosis, how her cancer could have been prevented, and how our adult child ended up with the exact same BRCA2 mutation as her mother. But I quickly realized that many people lack a basic understanding of genetics, genetic inheritance, and cancer. So, being an illustrator with decades of experience creating educational materials, I started drawing pictures to help explain it.
I felt what I had illustrated needed to be shared, so I created Genetionary.org, an ad-free site with a simple genetic mutation glossary, my infographics, and materials for sharing family health history. It’s just a simple site with a simple focus: to help raise awareness about hereditary cancer and how it can be prevented.
My soul mate of 40 years died horribly and needlessly because information wasn’t shared. Nobody should die of a preventable cancer. Nobody!
Please share.
I had a successful career in the arts long before a pathogenic germline mutation changed everything. So, for a little break from my hereditary cancer advocacy infographics that I've been posting here for the past few years, here’s a look at some of my Testudines illustrations for today.
The top left image was my first children's magazine cover, done as a 20-something just beginning my freelance illustration career. (Back in the days when getting a gig from an editor or art director a couple thousand miles away involved either a long-distance phone call or a snail mail letter. And when someone liked your work, you got fan mail!)
If you want to color a picture today, you can go here to download the Sulcata Tortoise coloring page.
Or here to download the Desert Tortoise coloring page.
The How to Draw a Turtle page is here.
The sleeping tortoises are from the children’s book, Coyote Claus: A Southwest Desert Tale, published by Sunbelt Publications. (BTW, I donate ALL royalties from the sales of the Coyote Claus book to help the hereditary cancer community fight cancer.)
Knowing and sharing family health history can be life-saving. The same genetic variant that may increase the risk of cancer or heart disease can be shared with grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins — even cousins several times removed.
Art created by me as a volunteer advocate for the ConnectMyVariant May newsletter.
Maybe we need to look at preventing and curing cancer differently. Let’s start by being honest about cancer.
I could share so many stories about the magic and wonder of nature and open spaces, but I’ll just leave you with one of my paintings.
There’s more about me, my art, and the desert on another post.
