"Decoding Annie Parker": Canadian Premiere of Movie on Breast Cancer

September 19, 2013 has witnessed the Canadian premiere of a film about breast cancer, Decoding Annie Parker, in London Ontario, featuring a star-filled cast including Helen Hunt and Samantha Morton, for American director, writer and producer Steven Berstein. The film will be released in cinemas in the New Year. It falls under that kind of philanthropy called "Filmanthropy". Read more and watch the trailer.

Angelina Julie: “Like a Scene out of a Science-Fiction”

This is how the actress described the long process she has undergone starting February to remove both of her breasts' tissues in an article in The New York Times. In a down to earth style, Julie describes her motivation to undergo a double mastectomy: mainly, she wanted to empower her stance towards cancer and up her chances to live longer for her children. We have published a week ago a post on Angelina Julie's preventive double mastectomy due to her learning she carries the gene BRCA1 and therefore is at a higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Today we'd like to share some related points. First, the timing of Julie's announcement is crucial to an ongoing supreme court case with the company that has patented research on that specific gene (2). The biotech company, Myriad Genetics, "owns the patent to BRCA1 and another so-called isolated gene that carries similar risks called BRCA2 (3). The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in the related case end of June (4). Interestingly, the case began in 2009 and following Julie's announcement, Myriad's stock has risen sharply (5).

Angelina Jolie's Double Mastectomy Due to Breast Cancer Gene

Well-known, Oscar-winning actress, Angelina Julie, Brad Pitt's 8-year partner, has just announced she has undergone a double preventive mastectomy--both breasts surgically removed--in April 2013. The reason is that she had learned she has BRCA1, a "gene that significantly raised her risk of breast cancer." (Watch videos and read more below).