1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff Mom Never told you. From how Stuff 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 1: Christen and I'm Caroline. And as we mentioned in a 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: listener mail segment a little while ago, we were thinking 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: about doing an update on the breast cancer jeans Brocco 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: one and two, because we did an episode a long 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: time ago, years ago now on gene patenting and these 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: breast cancer jeans which a company called Mary Genetics had patented, 9 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: and since there was the Supreme Court case about that 10 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: patenting and also the big news with Angelina Jolie's preventative mastectomy, 11 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: we thought this definitely needed some updates, right, Yeah, just 12 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: to kind of familiarize you. If you, you know, haven't 13 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: heard of it, maybe you didn't listen to the past episode, 14 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: tisc tisc, But yeah, like Christen said, it really entered 15 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: the news big time on May fourteenth, when Angelina Jolie 16 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: published her op ed in The New York Times explaining 17 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: her decision to have a preventive double in the stectomy 18 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: after finding out that she carried a faulty Brocco one gene, 19 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: which increased her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer 20 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: by about eight, seven, and fifty respectively. Doing this. Having 21 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: this procedure effectively cut Jolie's cancer risk to five per cent. 22 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: And she had genuine reason to worry because her mother, 23 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: Marshall Line Bertrand, died at age fifty six of ovarian 24 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: cancer in two thousand seven, and on June eighth of 25 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: this year, her mother's sister, Debbie Martin, died of the 26 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: same disease. Now, Martin had found out that she also 27 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: carried the faulty Brocco one gene, but was not aware 28 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: of it until after her two thousand four cancer diagnosis. 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: And so it's been a really intense spring or these 30 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: cancer genes because right after the passing of Debbie Martin 31 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: on June thirteenth, the Supreme Court invalidated the myriad patents 32 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: on those BROCA genes. Yeah, so just to back up 33 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: a little bit, let's talk about what those genes actually are. 34 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: It's Brocco one and Broca two, and a lot of 35 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: this information, by the way, is coming from the National 36 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: Cancer Institute, and the b r c A stands for 37 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene one and two. And everybody, male 38 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: and female, we all have two copies of each gene, 39 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: and we get one from mom and from dad. And 40 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: these are human genes that belong to a class known 41 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: as tumor suppressors. So when functioning normally, the protein that 42 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: these genes produce actually helps prevent cells from growing and 43 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: dividing too fast and developing those tumors. And so researchers 44 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: believe that a defective or a saying Brocco one or 45 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: two protein is unable to help prepare damage DNA or 46 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: fixed mutations that occur in other genes, and so those 47 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: mutations are linked to breast and ovarian cancer. Right, So 48 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: it's not that if you have it's not an issue 49 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: of having Bracco wan or Brocka two. We all have it. 50 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: It's an issue of having a faulty gene that's just 51 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: not doing its job. And so these Brocca mutations are 52 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: responsible for an estimated five to ten percent of all 53 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: breast cancers and ten to fifteen percent of all ovarian cancers, 54 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: and both men and women who inherit these mutated Brocca 55 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: one or two genes are greatly at risk of developing cancer. 56 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: For women, it increases the risk of breast cancer to 57 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: six compared to the population wide risk of twelve percent, 58 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: and so essentially it amplifies your breast cancers by five 59 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: and then um for women, it presents a fifteen to 60 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: forty percent risk of ovarian cancer compared to one point 61 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: four percent risk for the general population. And this is 62 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: important to note though, that the studies on the Broca 63 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: genes have been conducted on large families with cancer history, 64 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: so scientists do say that there could be some other 65 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: environmental and genetic factors at play. They are still figuring 66 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: out precisely what these genes do, but but those are 67 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: and I know we just tossed out a lot of 68 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: percentages and risk factors, but to sum it up as 69 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: simply as possible, not a lot of people have these 70 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: Brocco one in two mutations, but for that subset of 71 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: people like Angelina Jolie for instance, who do have them, 72 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer is greatly increased. Right. 73 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: And the Brocco one gene was discovered by geneticist Mary 74 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: Claire King in Bracca two was discovered a year later. 75 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: She talked to Slate about her work in this field, 76 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: and she said that it really confirmed the idea of 77 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,480 Speaker 1: genetic predisposition to cancer. My work showed that one could 78 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: use the tools of genetic analysis to prove the existence 79 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 1: of genes responsible for an inherited form of a major 80 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: common disease, and that you can parse out the inherited portion. 81 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: So Mary Claire King is really a trailblazer in this field. Yeah, 82 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: And she didn't have a lot of backing when she 83 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,919 Speaker 1: was initially doing the work that led up to that 84 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: discovery of the braco in gene. She was essentially working 85 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: with a very small pool of funding from the National 86 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: Institutes of Health and that was it. She was almost 87 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: doing it as sidework because she was really committed to it. 88 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: So um so, yeah, it was it was huge. And 89 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: we'll get back into what those genes mean for women 90 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: who have them, um But to get into more of 91 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: the business side of these genes and that patenting case 92 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: that we mentioned at the top of the podcast that 93 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 1: was recently struck down by the Supreme Court. Shortly after 94 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 1: Mary Claire King discovered braccawan, this company called Marria Genetics 95 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: came along and patented the genes sequence and and jeans 96 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: have been patented before. Jeans especially linked to other kinds 97 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: of diseases. But this is what Mary Claire King said 98 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: to Slate. Myriad insisted that it was the only entity 99 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,799 Speaker 1: that could perform the tests and was aggressive in shutting 100 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,479 Speaker 1: down anyone else because of that patent that at pursued. 101 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: And this force other researchers who have to request Myriad's 102 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: permission before they could look at the genes. So you 103 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: can imagine how that would slow down or bottleneck the 104 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: flow of research into the development of breast and ovarian cancers. Right. Absolutely, 105 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: these patents gave the company rights to future mutations on 106 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,480 Speaker 1: BRACA two and power to exclude others from providing genetic testing. 107 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: And so what does that do when only one provider 108 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: can give you a service? The price skyrocket. So the 109 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: company was charging upwards of three thousand dollars per test, 110 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: which is hefty. Well, speaking of that test, what exactly 111 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: is this is a test that Angelina Jolie got um. 112 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: This also involves something called genetic counseling that happens before that. 113 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: So when you go in for a BROCA gene test, 114 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: what's going to happen is that they're going to do 115 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: a DNA analysis to identify those harmful mutations that we've 116 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: talked about that leads to that increased risk for developing 117 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: breast row varian cancer. But first you're probably gonna go 118 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: through something called genetic counseling, which is a risk assessment 119 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: based on a person's personal and family medical history. And 120 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: it's going to include discussions about things like the appropriateness 121 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: of genetic testing, the types of tests that might be used, 122 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: the technical accuracy of the test, medical implications for a 123 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: positive or negative result, psychological risk, risk of passing on 124 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: mutations to children. Basically, it's going to give you a 125 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: rundown of what might happen and whether even gene testing 126 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: is the best course for you to take. You might 127 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: not even need to do it right. And it really 128 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: is not offered to or performed on women who have 129 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: an average risk of breast rovarian cancers. It's really focused 130 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 1: on people who are likely to have the inherited mutation 131 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: based on that personal or family history, or women who 132 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: have specific types of breast cancer. And an interesting thing 133 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: to note is how focused it is in a particular population. 134 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: Uh It's particularly present in members of the Jewish community 135 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: who can trace their roots back to Central or Eastern Europe, 136 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: known as Ashkenazi Jews. They were for centuries and isolated population, 137 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: and this is coming from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. 138 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: They said that one out of forty people of Ashkenazi 139 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: Jewish ancestry have a mutation in Brocco one or two, 140 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: compared to about one out of every eight hundred members 141 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: of the general population. So they are great candidates for 142 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: getting that genetic counseling to possibly get the DNA to 143 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: and outside of the Asha Nazi population, the types of 144 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: family history that a genetic counselor might look at would 145 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: be whether or not you have a first degree relative 146 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: like a mother or a sister who developed breast or 147 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: avarian cancer, or multiple second degree relatives like cousins and 148 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:36,599 Speaker 1: aunts um and what happens if you have a positive 149 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: result from that gene test, well, it means that you 150 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: have that genetic mutation, and if it's on the Brocca 151 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: one gene, that means you have a sixty eight percent 152 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: lifetime risk of breast cancer and a thirty percent lifetime 153 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: risk of ovarian cancer, and a positive Brocca two result 154 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: means that you have a fifty to seventy percent lifetime 155 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: risk of breast cancer and attend to twenty percent lifetime 156 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: risk of ovarian cancer, but that doesn't necessarily mean that 157 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: you should go the Angelina Jolie route of having the 158 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: preventative double mastectomy. There are a range of options for 159 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: what you can do if you do have a positive 160 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: test result, and this was something that a lot of 161 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: doctors wanted to remind women when the Angelina Jolie op 162 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,199 Speaker 1: ed came out in the New York Times and everybody 163 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: was talking about it, and obviously for women, especially with 164 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: a history of breast cancer, it got a lot of 165 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,679 Speaker 1: them thinking whether or not they should go ahead and 166 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: get that double mastectomy just to lower their risks, and 167 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: and that's actually not necessary in a lot of cases. 168 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: That's pretty much the most invasive thing that you can do, 169 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: and for ovarian cancer, Julie actually decided against having her 170 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,719 Speaker 1: ovaries removed, but that's another thing that can happen. But 171 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: on the less invasive side, options include surveillance, which is 172 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: just a regular cancer her screenings. Um you might have 173 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 1: prophylactic surgery like Jolie. Their their risk avoidance tactics, and 174 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: then there's chemo prevention, which you can also do, which 175 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: typically involves taking the drug to moxa fen which has 176 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: been linked to lowering the spread of breast cancer. Well, 177 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: Jolie definitely had quite an effect on this conversation. I mean, 178 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: we're talking about it right now to you. Um. A 179 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: story in the Miami Herald from June quoted some healthcare 180 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: professionals who have seen a definite difference since Jolie's op 181 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: ed appeared. Maxine chang Chin, who is a cancer risk 182 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: assessment counselor at Memorial Healthcare System in Broward, Florida, said 183 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: that it did open up the conversation. She said, some 184 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: patients heard about it and now call and say they 185 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: want to have genetic testing done, and they're also she 186 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: was explaining, just kind of more open and more comfortable 187 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: with the idea because Jolie is also very young to 188 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: have made this major decision. But at the same time, 189 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: because there is no standard criteria for Brocca genetic testing 190 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: at the moment. In other words, there isn't a standard 191 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: checklist of you know, if you have this, this, this, 192 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: then you should get it. That's why things like the 193 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: genetic counseling exists. As some people do caution that while 194 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: it is great, visually raised the awareness again the path 195 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: that she took is not necessarily the path that would 196 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,839 Speaker 1: be appropriate for all women, regardless of whether they test 197 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: positive for Brocco one or two. And there is a 198 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: study of more than women in nine countries who did 199 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: test positive for one of those mutations, and it showed 200 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: that many American women in particular have chosen to have 201 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 1: their breasts or ovaries removed once they learned that they 202 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: carried the genes. But again, you know, that's one thing 203 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: on a menu of options for for what might happen UM. 204 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: And it's kind of on a side note, and I 205 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: feel like this is something that deserves maybe more attention 206 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: and possibly its own podcast episode. But but there's been 207 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: a bit of a medical downside to our vigilance, some 208 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 1: might even call it over vigilance towards breast cancer in 209 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: particular UM. In the New England Journal of Medicine, a 210 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: study recently found that one point five million women have 211 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: been needlessly treated for cancers in the past thirty years, 212 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 1: largely due to faulty mammogram results, and as many as 213 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,439 Speaker 1: a third of tumors detected by mammograms are so small 214 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,679 Speaker 1: and slow growing that they'll never develop into cancer, and 215 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: so on. The one end, you might say, well, better 216 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,319 Speaker 1: to be safe than sorry. But on the other end, 217 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: there are also a number of doctors wondering whether or 218 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: not the age for mammograms when you start getting mammograms 219 00:13:55,240 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: should go up, or if our routine mammograms shoulder apps 220 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: be less routine because there's a lot of invasive surgery 221 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: happening that doesn't necessarily need to happen. So just one 222 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 1: thing to keep in mind. And also when it comes 223 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: to breast cancer versus ovarian cancer. While breast cancer thanks 224 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: largely to organizations like Susan g comb and that have, 225 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: through their pink campaigns, raised so much awareness about breast cancer, 226 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: and just because breast cancer, I would say it's the 227 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: most visible cancer in our culture, whereas ovarian cancer is 228 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: usually more deadly to women even though statistically or less 229 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: likely to develop it. But it's more deadly because we 230 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: usually catch it later on, because our vigilance is really 231 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: focused on breast cancer more than anything else. So just 232 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: a side note to keep in mind. Right, Well, we 233 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: told you earlier about how the Supreme Court did away 234 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: with the patent of the braca jeans. Well, let's let's 235 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: get into that fight a little bit. Um way back when. 236 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 1: In two thousand nine, the a c l U, along 237 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: with the Public Patent Foundation, sued the Patent and Trademark Office, 238 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: Maria Genetics, and the University of Utah Research Foundation, arguing 239 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: that patenting pure genes is unconstitutional and hinders research for 240 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: a cancer cure. They basically said that because patenting the 241 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: genes limits research and the free flow of information, it 242 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: violates the First Amendment, and Arthur Kaplan, who's the director 243 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania 244 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: at the time, was quoted as saying, it's like trying 245 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: to patent the moon. You didn't do anything to create it. 246 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: You just discovered something that already existed. So they weren't 247 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: solely focused on the BROCKA genes in the suit. They 248 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: were kind of talking about genetic patents altogether. And as 249 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: part of this suit, A c LU did note that 250 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: about of all human genes are patented, a little bit 251 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: of trivia that I did not realize. Yeah, And at 252 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: the heart of this issue, it's the fact that the 253 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: patenting of this genetic sequence and and of the genetic 254 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: sequences of those other human genes that have been patented 255 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: as well. It violates a legal precedent that has long 256 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: been established that you can't patent products of nature. And 257 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: one of the examples that the a c LU offers 258 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,840 Speaker 1: is that, say you want to get iron out of 259 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: the earth, you can't patent that iron. You can patent 260 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: the way that you get the iron out of the earth. 261 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: You can patent what you might make out of it, 262 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: but you cannot patent that naturally occurring substance, right, And 263 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: somebody else compared it to patenting eyeballs, and like, if 264 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: you just find an eyeball that pops out of somebody's head, 265 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: you can't pick it up, dust it off, and patent it, 266 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: to which I say, what are you doing picking up 267 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: eyeballs off the ground exactly? And which to which I say, 268 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: I really need to rethink my plan about my eyeball 269 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: empire that I'm I'm creating. Sorry, sorry about all those 270 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: eyeballs you've been collecting. You can have to find us 271 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: something else to do with them. It's called enterprises. Amazing, 272 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 1: So what happened on? What did happen? Well, I just 273 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: made a bad eyeball pun And on June thirteen, the 274 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: Supreme Court invalidated the Brocca patents and it ruled that 275 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: patents on human genes are invalid, which is a major 276 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,199 Speaker 1: shift in patent law because of that note again that 277 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 1: around there of all human genes have already been patented, 278 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: and it overturns the Patent Office policy. But patents on 279 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: c DNA, which is complimentary DNA and man made DNA 280 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: molecules are okay. But scientists can provide genetic testing without 281 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 1: relying on that complimentary DNA. And so how did geneticists 282 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: Mary Claire King, who first discovered the Broca gene react, 283 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,360 Speaker 1: She said, I am delighted. This is a fabulous result 284 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: for patients, physician scientists, and it is common sense. And 285 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 1: there were a lot of supporters of this, including the 286 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,639 Speaker 1: American Medical Association. And Lori Andrews, a professor at the 287 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,200 Speaker 1: Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago Kent College of Law, could 288 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: that name be longer, broke it down for what this means, 289 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 1: and she said, basically, all genetic tests will become affordable 290 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: and more researchers will be able to look for cures. 291 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: And on that token, King also told Slate for about 292 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,959 Speaker 1: what's next, she said, it's going to be developing multi 293 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 1: gene panels which are one stop shops for testing for 294 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancers on many genes. It's 295 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: been a very high priority. And the test of they're 296 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: working on, King said has been called broke up b 297 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:46,680 Speaker 1: r O c A and they've been using it for 298 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: a long time. But up until that Supreme Court decision 299 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 1: invalidating the patent, they had to mask the Brocco one 300 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: and two genes so that they wouldn't violate that patent 301 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: that Marriage Genetics had. And so when this development, these 302 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: multi gene tests that King is talking about can be 303 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: made available to people by many firms, not just Myriad, 304 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: And she says, in fact, I think they were on 305 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 1: the market straight after the ruling. And fun fact about 306 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: that Broca name, um she says it comes from the 307 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:22,880 Speaker 1: nineteenth century French surgeon and pathologist Pierre Paul Broca, who 308 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: was the first person to describe inherited breast cancer in 309 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: families in a systematic way, and based on his work, 310 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 1: geneticists are currently trying to trace the relatives of those families. 311 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 1: But he looked at from the eighteen sixties to see 312 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: if they have those brocco one or two mutations. Science, 313 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: I know, I love you science, I love you so much. 314 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 1: And French French nineteenth century surgeon, French science, French science, 315 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: vulsual science. Yeah. Anyway, so I hope we Chris and 316 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:56,639 Speaker 1: I have thrown a lot of stats at you, and 317 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:58,800 Speaker 1: we've we've kind of glossed over some stuff. But I 318 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: hope this was informative, and you know, we do. It 319 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: is worth repeating and and re emphasizing that these mutations 320 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: are extremely rare. The last thing we want is for 321 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,239 Speaker 1: you to be sitting there at home concerned that you 322 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,159 Speaker 1: need to run out and get either genetic counseling or 323 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: a you know, a massively invasive surgery. Yeah. There's less 324 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 1: than a four percent prevalence rate of the mutations among 325 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: all ethnic groups, and around five to ten of cancers 326 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:31,120 Speaker 1: are inherited, so it's still in the minority. The problem 327 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: with inherited cancers when it has that strong genetic link 328 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,400 Speaker 1: is that they tend to be a lot more aggressive. 329 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: And also, BROCA is not the only gene mutation that 330 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,640 Speaker 1: can contribute to breast row varying cancers, and they're up 331 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,640 Speaker 1: to fifteen other genes that can also increase the risk, 332 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: which is why those multi gene panels that King is 333 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: talking about that are in development could be very helpful. Um. 334 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,679 Speaker 1: And finally, just remember there are less invasive treatments than 335 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: prevent kit of double mystectomies like Angelina Jolie's that can 336 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: happen even if you test positive for one of those mutations. 337 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,200 Speaker 1: So while you know it is important to remain vigilant 338 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: and to stay updated on our you know, our doctor's 339 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 1: appointments and health screamings and pab smears and all of 340 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff. Um, the only thing that I 341 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: guess whether we would caution is to uh, to stay informed, 342 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: but not to panic. Right. Well, so let's hear from 343 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: listeners now. I would be interested to hear what your 344 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,920 Speaker 1: reaction was to Angelina Jolie's op ed. If you have 345 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:43,640 Speaker 1: breast or ovarian cancer that runs in your family, have 346 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:46,760 Speaker 1: you gone through genetic testing or or counseling? I would 347 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: I would be interested to know what that process was. Like. Yeah, 348 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: Mom Stuff at Discovery dot com is where you can 349 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: send emails. You can also tweet us at Mom's Stuff 350 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 1: podcast or send us a message over on Facebook. And 351 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: while you're writing us. We are going to take a 352 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,439 Speaker 1: quick break and we will get right back to a 353 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: couple of letters. And now back to our letters, Caroline. 354 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 1: We have gotten so many letters about short hair, a 355 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 1: lot of short haired ladies writing in and and this 356 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: first letter I'm gonna read, it's from Margot, she writes, 357 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: I'm a longtime short hair lady. My mom started me 358 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: out young with a pixie cut and continued until I 359 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: rebelled in my later elementary through middle school years. Once 360 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: I got to high school, I no longer felt the 361 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 1: need to blend in, so I cut all seventeen inches 362 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: off into a short hair cut, inspired by Audrey heat Broom. 363 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: The pixie stayed with me all through college, when I 364 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: learned how easy it is to cut and maintain it oneself. 365 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,400 Speaker 1: I started cutting my hair in college, and now nine 366 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: years later, I haven't paid for a cut since it 367 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: feels very liberating to not have to worry about blow 368 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: drying or straightening. I use a tiny dab of cocoa 369 00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,880 Speaker 1: butter to give it a little extra texture every day. 370 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: But besides that, it is easy as pie. I too 371 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: have experienced some criticism. Kids often stare clearly trying to 372 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: figure out my gender. Once, an elderly Italian lady stare 373 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:13,159 Speaker 1: to me for a good ten minutes before she finally 374 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: asked what my gender was. And I was even wearing big, 375 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: dangly earrings, a tiny tank top, and a skirt. I 376 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:20,920 Speaker 1: have learned to laugh off these incidents and feel glad 377 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: that my hair can still surprise people and maybe open 378 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: someone's mind a little bit. Also about men, men young 379 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: and old, are constantly approaching me and complimenting me on 380 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: my striking hair. I actually get more complimentary attention with 381 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:34,639 Speaker 1: short hair than with long. I've tried long hair for 382 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: a couple of years recently, but I felt less respected 383 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: at work, less confident out on the street, and more 384 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: frustrated than ever when I had to figure out something 385 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: to do with my hair. I'm sure these feelings had 386 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: more to do with how I felt about myself than 387 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 1: how I actually looked, But for me, the difference is amazing. 388 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,080 Speaker 1: And she attached pictures of her with short hair versus 389 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,360 Speaker 1: long hair, and you know what I'm gonna say that 390 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: I am also a fan of the short hair. It 391 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: is acute cut and the fact that she hasn't paid 392 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: for her hair cut and how long and that doesn't 393 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,400 Speaker 1: have to do anything to it. Oh, Margo, you make 394 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,200 Speaker 1: me wish I had a jaw on that cold way 395 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:14,640 Speaker 1: a short hair cut, So thank you for your letter. 396 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: In for the pics, Margo and Kristen. I have a 397 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: Facebook message here from Tatiana about her short hair. She says, 398 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: I just heard your podcast about pixie cuts yesterday, and 399 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: I was so happy to hear some intelligent conversation on 400 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: the topic of women with short hair. I've had my 401 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: extra short hair for almost two years now, and I 402 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,920 Speaker 1: love it. It was a totally liberating experience, and I 403 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: have never felt so confident or so much like myself 404 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 1: in my life. Sure, I had my fears while I 405 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: was in the salon chair. Is this a good idea? 406 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,920 Speaker 1: What if I look bad? Will men still find me attractive? 407 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: But guess what, it was a good idea. I'm definitely 408 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: feeling sick, fyer than ever, and not to shoot my 409 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,920 Speaker 1: own horn, I've actually attracted more men with short hair 410 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,200 Speaker 1: than I ever did with long hair. By the way, 411 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: totally giggled when I heard the short hair infertile thing. 412 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:03,720 Speaker 1: And now I have a new way to tease people 413 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: who asked me about my hair. Oh, why I cut 414 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:11,159 Speaker 1: it this short, It's because I'm barren. So thank you, Tatiana. 415 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,679 Speaker 1: You do look adorable in your profile picture, and we 416 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: appreciate you writing in. Yes, indeed, and thanks to everyone 417 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: who has written in and tweeted us and facebooked us 418 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 1: and all that good stuff. Again. Our email addresses mom 419 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: Stuff at Discovery dot com. You can follow us on 420 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,680 Speaker 1: Twitter at mom Stuff podcast, and like us over on 421 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: Facebook and leave a message there. We're on Tumbler as 422 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: well as stuff Mo'm Never told You dot tumbler dot com. 423 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: And last, but certainly not least, we're on YouTube. We 424 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: have new videos four times a week that you should 425 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: totally come over and watch. We are at YouTube dot 426 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,679 Speaker 1: com slash stuff mom Never Told You, and don't forget 427 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:49,640 Speaker 1: to subscribe for more on this and thousands of other topics. 428 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: Does it how stuff works dot com