Today’s instalment of DMs in the DMs sets the tender tone for today’s episode, as D shares a message she received about grief. Your hosts then welcome back Internal Medicine Physician and founder of End Well, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, to update everyone on significant personal changes since we last heard from her. Her father has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and she herself has been found to be BRCA positive. Dr. Shoshana is on a mission to let people know that this mutation is incredibly prevalent, and that the testing for it needs to increase. If it weren’t for her dad’s illness, she would have never thought to test. She shares why she thinks providers aren’t aware of the link with the BRCA gene, how the mutation may actually extend her father’s life, how it’s important for men to get tested as well, and the lifestyle changes she’s made as a result of testing positive. For many people, genetic testing may be covered if you have a first degree relative with certain types of cancer, but if you’re not, you can seek out a genetic counselor and decide with them if it makes sense for you to be tested. This episode dispels the myth of BRCA only being associated with breast cancer, highlights the importance of knowing your family history, and touches on the balance of being both a provider and a family member of someone suffering. We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Shoshana for her honesty and vulnerability, and hope to assist her in advocating for increased access to genetic testing. 

Listen to our last episode with Dr. Shoshana here. You can also find her article in Newsweek here and can seek a genetic counselor at findageneticcounselor.nsgc.org.  

To get more from Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, you can follow her on Instagram @shoshanamd and @endwellproject. Plus, be sure to check out endwellproject.org and the End Well podcast wherever you listen. 

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