Ben Huebsch was inspired to become an educator because of his mother’s advice to give back to his community. He loves his job as a middle school principal: he gets a front-row seat to the impact a dedicated staff can have on young lives! He is continuing his mother’s legacy by sharing his firsthand experience with BRCA testing for …
Morgan Turpin, MB(ASCP), CGMBS, Technical Systems Manager, is an Ambry Genetics employee who has firsthand knowledge of the benefits of exome testing. Her son Shayne went through a diagnostic odyssey of his own before he was a toddler. Exome testing opened up many possibilities for the family, including an online community and treatment options. …
The adage “knowing is half the battle” describes Trinity Chappelear perfectly. Her dear friend Brandi Preston lost her mother to breast cancer at age 14, spurring Preston to start The Kamie K Preston Hereditary Cancer Foundation, based in Omaha, Nebraska. The non-profit is devoted to educating and supporting awareness for genetic testing to …
My Faulty Gene is a nonprofit organization that provides information and assistance to individuals whose family medical history suggests genetic testing might be helpful in identifying an increased risk of disease due to a genetic mutation. They believe that everyone in need of genetic testing should have access to it. We sat down with Kathy …
Back in the 1970s, skateboarding was all the rage. The Zephyr skate team from Southern California wowed young men all over the country with their different tricks, jumps, and grinds. One of these impressionable youths was Mike Rogers. He started his skating career in Florida in 1977. Little did he know he’d face much larger challenges than working …
When Jaime Burguieres was young, her 43-year-old maternal aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. Burguieres watched her vivacious aunt go through painful radiation and chemotherapy treatments that seemingly eradicated her cancer at the time. A few years later, her aunt was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the breast, stomach, and hip, …
Previvor: A person who has not been diagnosed with cancer, but has survived the predisposition, or higher risk, due to certain genetic mutations.* Breast cancer. Spoken in hushed tones, these scary words are often compounded by the aftermath of breast cancer deaths, creating a stigma around discussing breast cancer in regular conversations. With …
“It’s one thing to be scared to hear something, it’s another to die from not hearing something at all.”—Rick, Colon & Kidney Cancer Survivor (American Cancer Society) When I was twelve years old, my cousin was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. She was only 24. My mother knew my grandfather on …
On the evening of November 12, 2018, my husband and I received a call from our then 18-year-old daughter Oli’s school, informing us that she had been found outside her room with no pulse, in full cardiac arrest after a fire alarm went off in the dorm. The security officer started chest compressions and brought her back with one shock from the …
As far back as I can remember my dad was always into health and fitness. So when I joined the track team in junior high, my dad decided he would start running with me to help me improve my race times. Little did I know, or could I appreciate, this was actually an excuse to spend more time with me. Donned in white Dolphin shorts he would shuffle …