When Marleah was 8 years old, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. When Marleah was in college, her mother had genetic testing done and learned that she carried a mutation in the BRCA2 gene. This finding explained the breast cancer in Marleah’s family and inspired Marleah’s career as a university professor, focused on communication and decision making surrounding hereditary cancer risk. Marleah met with a genetic counselor when she was in college but chose to wait until she was 25 before she had genetic testing done and learned that she also carried a BRCA2 mutation. Marleah shares her own journey as a previvor and discusses her ongoing work in the field.

Links and Resources
Cancer Communication Research 
Marleah’s Tedx Talk: How to Make Decisions Based on Uncertain Information
Marleah as part of the CDC’s Bring Your Brave Campaign
Marleah’s campaign video for the CDC
Dean M,  et al. “Shared Decision-Making Experiences of Couples with Inherited Cancer Risk Regarding Family Building.” J Health Commun. 2023 May 4;28(5):292-301. 
https://www.facingourrisk.org/BOAST/
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
Connect with Marleah on Social Media
Marleah on Twitter @marleahdeank
Marleah on LinkedIn 
Check out other Patient Stories podcast episodes.
Read other Patient Stories on the Grey Genetics Patient Stories Page.

Interested in digging deeper into the professional issues raised in the podcast? Consider joining the Patient Stories Club!
Do you want to support Patient Stories? You can make a donation online!
Are you looking for genetic counseling? Patient Stories is sponsored by Grey Genetics, an independent telehealth genetic counseling and consulting company. Book an appointment with a genetic counselor specialized in your area of concern. All genetic counseling appointments take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing or by phone.
Looking for a place to collect your family history and share with relatives? Check out the FamGenix app.
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