ABCD: AFTER BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS EXPANDS FREE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TO REACH PEOPLE GENETICALLY PREDISPOSED IN RESPONSE TO GROWING DEMAND - After Breast Cancer Diagnosis

ABCD: AFTER BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS EXPANDS FREE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TO REACH PEOPLE GENETICALLY PREDISPOSED IN RESPONSE TO GROWING DEMAND

ABCD to begin offering emotional support to “previvors,” following the November launch of a new Mentor training program.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Megan Brown at megan@abcdmentor.org or (414) 690-1893

Milwaukee, WI (October 9, 2024) – Previvors, or people with a higher-than-average risk of developing breast cancer, will soon be able to benefit from the free, one-to-one emotional support that ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis provides to anyone impacted by breast cancer, anywhere, at any stage. New, virtual training for previvors to become ABCD Mentors is set for Wednesday, November 20, from 6:30 to 9 pm CT.

Working as a complement to medical care, ABCD’s signature service is creating a unique match between someone who needs support and an ABCD Mentor who not only shares a similar diagnosis and treatment plan, but also has similar ages, common interests, personal characteristics, career paths, and family dynamics. ABCD Mentors are carefully selected and trained to provide support; they listen and provide a safe space to share and offer understanding and compassion when people need it most.

After ABCD’s first previvor Mentor training on November 20, previvors who are facing life-altering decisions such as prophylactic surgery (e.g., mastectomy) can contact ABCD to be matched with a previvor Mentor with a similar lived experience.  

Thanks to scientific and technological advances, more people are discovering their hereditary risks. Approximately five to 10 percent of women in the United States have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. Men with a genetic predisposition have a lifetime risk of one to five percent for BRCA1 (BReast CAncer gene 1) or five to 10 percent for BRCA2 (BReast CAncer gene 2). BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the most common genes associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Other gene types include PALB2, CHEK2, ATM, and BARD1.

Debbie Weyl, who lives in Washington D.C., is a previvor with two sisters who were diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It’s a club no one wants to be in, but talking with someone who’s lived through a similar situation can be incredibly validating,” said Weyl, who chose to undergo a preventative double mastectomy because her family history indicated she was predisposed. “I’m looking forward to helping someone else by joining ABCD as a previvor Mentor and sharing my experience.”

The upcoming, virtual Mentor training session on Wednesday, November 20 from 6:30 to 9 pm CT will be led by ABCD Director of Service Delivery and Mentor Engagement Carrie Williams, who began as a Mentor with ABCD in 2018. She’s also a survivor, having been diagnosed in 2013 and later learning she was genetically predisposed to developing breast cancer as a BRCA2 carrier.

“Our training is open to anyone, anywhere who has learned they carry a genetic marker for breast cancer, has a strong family history, and is willing to share their story and lend support,” said Williams. “I strongly believe everyone should have the opportunity to explore all the options available to them and to make their own decisions about their health and their lives.”

For more information or to register for the November training, contact ABCD at info@abcdmentor.org or 1-800-977-4121.

About ABCD

ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis provides FREE, one-to-one emotional support to anyone impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis—from patients, family, and friends, to survivors, previvors, and caregivers. With 250+ volunteer Mentors around the country and a virtual platform that makes it easy to request support from anywhere in the United States and beyond, ABCD can make truly personalized connections that make a tremendous difference. In 25 years, ABCD has proudly supported more than 110,000 people in Wisconsin and across the United States.

To request a Mentor, visit ABCDBreastCancerSupport.org/get-support, email info@abcdmentor.org, or call 1-800-977-4121.

ABCD’s Founding Vision

It was 1992 when Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist Melodie Wilson Oldenburg announced on live television she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. At a time when breast cancer was rarely discussed openly, Melodie chose to use her public position to speak out about her personal experience with the disease.

She started to receive letters and calls from people she had never met. They too had been diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted to provide hope and guidance by sharing their personal experience with her. Melodie quickly realized the benefits of emotional support but recognized a gap in care—too many people lacked resources and access to quality, personalized support.

Leaving her broadcast career in 1998, she brought together breast cancer patients, survivors, physicians, clinicians, and caregivers to launch ABCD on June 15, 1999, with the founding vision: “No one should go through breast cancer alone.”

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