Season 1 of Medsplaining is brought to you by Estée Lauder.

Welcome to the very first episode of Medsplaining! I’m your host Dr. Jennifer Zelovitzky. I’m so excited to introduce our very first guest on Medsplaining—Lauren Levy. She’s a successful entrepreneur, former podcaster, mom of four and all-around fashion and food guru.

In her mid-20s, Lauren discovered she carried the breast cancer gene, also known as the BRCA1 gene, which is associated with a dramatically increased risk of both breast and ovarian cancer. She underwent multiple preventative steps—a prophylactic double mastectomy, an oophorectomy, and proper hormone therapy—to minimize her risks of developing cancer.

Today, we get to talk to her about her life since then, what it was like to find out she was a carrier of this gene at a young age, and how she made the important decision to advocate for her own health.

You can find Lauren here:

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠Wren’s Recipes⁠

QUICK 6:

1. What: A mutation in the Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene, (BRCA 1 or BRCA 2) leads to a much higher than normal risk of developing cancer.

2. Where: In the breast, ovaries, prostate, and pancreas.

3. Who: Affects about 1 in 400 people—predominantly women but also some men of Ashkenazi Jewish, French Canadian, Icelandic, Hispanic and African American descent.

4. When: BRCA mutations tend to cause cancer before age 50. BRCA1 mutations tend to be associated with earlier development of cancer than BRCA2 mutations.

5. Why: The BRCA gene is known as a tumour suppressor gene. It plays a crucial role in DNA repair so that if cell replication goes wrong, this gene can step in and be correct. When this gene is mutated, such repairs cannot occur, and cancer can develop

6. How: BRCA is passed down from parent to child—from either a father or mother. This is known as Autosomal Dominant inheritance. In other words, if your parent is a carrier of this gene mutation, you have a 50% chance of inheriting it.

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Medsplaining is for educational purposes, not medical advice! ✨

#WomensHealth #BreastCancer #BreastCancerAwareness #AngelinaJolie #Cancer #OvarianCancer