PHILADELPHIA This Sunday, the lifesaving efforts of the University of Pennsylvanias Basser Research Center for BRCA will take root in Congregation Rodeph Shalom at a special event to raise awareness about hereditary breast and ovarian cancers within the Jewish community. The panel discussion, which will gather medical experts and genetic counselors alongside clergy, cancer advocates, survivors and previvors, aims to call attention to a striking statistic: 1 in 40 individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry who comprise 90 percent of Jews living in the U.S. carries a BRCA mutation, more than ten times the risk of the general population. Men can carry and pass on the gene mutations, too.

Experts will share the latest news on genetic testing for these mutations, which greatly increase carriers lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers and are also linked to prostate, pancreatic and colon cancers. CBS3/CW Philly 57 Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl will emcee the event, which will include an opportunity for the audience to ask questions of the panel and for individuals to meet one-on-one with genetic counselors from Penn Medicine.

This event is the first of a three-part educational series co-hosted by Penn Medicines Basser Research Center for BRCA and Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a national nonprofit organization that provides educational resources and support to women affected by breast cancer, their families and caregivers. This partnership, made possible by a grant from Women of Vision, the Jewish Womens Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, also brings together breast and ovarian cancer advocates from FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, Sharsheret and Bright Pink.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of theRaymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania(founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and theUniversity of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according toU.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals byU.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; Chester County Hospital; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided$827million to benefit our community.

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To Save A Life: Penn Medicine's Basser Research Center for BRCA Brings Hereditary Cancer Awareness Mission Into ...

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