Tune in to learn from Dr. Leif Ellisen, about Ashkenazi Jews’ one-in-forty risk of inheriting a BRCA gene mutation. Having a BRCA gene mutation significantly increases one’s risk of developing breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancers.

 

Learn about genetic testing and counseling, managing your cancer risk, resources available for those who carry BRCA gene mutations, and hear from those whose lives have been impacted by hereditary cancers.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends and Family of Oneinforty,

 

It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Oneinforty founder, Lauren M. Corduck, died peacefully on December 24, 2020. Lauren was just 49 years old. Lauren was compassionate, giving, smart, fierce, generous, loving, and showed us all that with determination and action you can make a difference.

 

Lauren is survived by her husband Robb Corduck and their two beautiful children, Esther and Bram. Lauren will be forever missed by her beloved parents, Bob and Betty Cooperstein, and her brother, Matthew Cooperstein.

 

In 2017, after many months of extreme back pain, Lauren was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer. Almost simultaneously she also learned that she was BRCA positive. Although she had a family history of breast cancer and was of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, Lauren was never referred to a genetic counselor or recommended genetic testing. While undergoing chemotherapy, Lauren felt she had to do something “to prevent what happened to me and my family from happening to anyone else.”

 

She set out on a mission to educate the community, healthcare providers, and policy makers about the one-in-forty risk to the Ashkenazi Jewish population of inheriting a BRCA gene mutation, which puts them at a significantly higher risk of developing hereditary cancer.

 

With persistence and determination, she shared her story with as many as possible in order to help save lives.

 

Under Lauren’s leadership, Oneinforty has hosted symposia at synagogues across the United States to educate the community; accelerated enrollment in the BFOR study that provided free genetic testing for BRCA mutations for people of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry; influenced and changed national cancer policy guidelines for genetic testing; established a medical advisory board of renowned oncologists; built a panel of mental health practitioners to support cancer patients and caregivers; forged national partnerships; and developed educational programs for healthcare providers.

 

As we mourn the loss of our brave and beautiful founder, the board and staff is focused on continuing the critical and lifesaving work of Oneinforty. We will honor Lauren and the countless families impacted by hereditary cancer by fulfilling Lauren’s mission to stop BRCA-related cancer in its tracks.

 

Lauren always wanted to help people and she found her mission because of her own illness. She was an inspiration and a beautiful light that cannot be extinguished.