Nick Digilio of WGN radio in Chicago will be interviewing Screenwriter/Director Steven Bernstein and Annie Parker of the feature film Decoding Annie Parker on his radio show on July 20th. Be sure to listen in beginning at 6 pm.
The Film will premiere in Chicago on July 25th to benefit FORCE. Buy your tickets NOW before it sells out!
In this article, the Washington Post discusses the many issues and challenges women face as they learn they carry the BRCA gene mutation that caused Angelina Jolie and many others to take action before the cancer did.
The story also notes that “In October, a feature-length Hollywood movie called “Decoding Annie Parker” will tell the true story of American geneticist Mary-Claire King (played by Helen Hunt), who is determined to a find a genetic link in breast cancer, a notion that was rejected by her peers in 1990.” This award winning movie by Steven Bernstein also tells the inspirational story of survivor Annie Parker. The movie just won TOP FIVE at the largest film festival in the United States-Seattle-where Samantha Morton also won BEST ACTRESS for her touching portrayal of the irrepressible Annie Parker.
Check our events calendar for the many places that Decoding Annie Parker will be holding Charitable Galas and Premieres to raise money for this important issue. Chicag0-you can see in on July 25th. Buy your TICKETS here and now before it sells out!
We are also planning screenings in LA, DC, Philadelphia, Palm Beach, Boise Idaho, Dallas & Austin Texas, Buffalo NY, and others!!
TAKE A FEW MINUTES AND LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW WHICH COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.
In this informative, thoughtful and candid radio interview, Amy Shaneman of Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered discusses how men and women carry and are affected by the BRCA mutations and risks of hereditary cancers. FORCE has a risk list on its website along with a plethora of other important and helpful information.
FORCE is holding FIVE benefit screenings of the feature film, Decoding Annie Parker by Steven Bernstein around the country, beginning on July 25th in Chicago. It will be in LA on September 17th, D.C. on October 1, Philadelphia on October 2, and on October 12 at Muvico City Place in Palm Beach.
These benefit screenings are to raise public awareness and money to help solve the problem and support those who are dealing with the ravages of cancner. Buy your tickets now for South Florida-HERE. For Chicago on JULY 25th, click HERE. For LOS ANGELES, click HERE.
See our EVENT CALENDAR to purchase tickets for screenings across the country-all to benefit charities. Many cities are still in the process of being scheduled, so stay tuned!
The recent death of Pierce Brosnan’s daughter, Charlotte, after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer, puts the BRCA mutation or genetic cancer in the spotlight again. People Magazine reports that Ms. Brosnan was the 4th generation of women in her family to die at a young age from this disease.
Her tragic death and the recent courageous disclosure of preventative surgery by Angelina Jolie draw attention to the issue, and our hearts go out to all those who bear such pain and loss. We remain mindful that hundreds of thousands of women every day struggle with all the suffering that this gene brings. They fight silently and unrecognized, with amazing courage, grace, dignity, and strength, and they do so in the absence of anything even remotely approaching the resources and support that they and their families need to meet their basic daily needs.
You can help! DONATE NOW to BRCA Gene Awareness. GO SEE Decoding Annie Parker at one of our benefit premiere’s across the country. JOIN any of our charity partners in helping those who deal with the horrific realities of genetic or other cancers every day. We have a lot of work to do. This problem can be solved. It takes public awareness and money.
Perhaps Mr. Brosnan and Ms. Jolie will help direct the spotlight to our efforts and join us on the Red Carpet for FORCE in Chicago on July 25th, or L.A. on September 17, or D.C on October 1, or Philadelphia October 2. or Palm Beach October 12. We could raise millions! We can and we must act NOW. Check our EVENT CALENDAR for an event near you, buy a ticket, make a donation. JUST HELP. THANK YOU!
Steven Bernstein, Annie Parker & Bob Russell. Photo courtesy of John Schlia Photography
The Dryden Theater in Rochester was full of excitement Monday night when a lively crowd gathered to see the movie
Decoding Annie Parker and learn about her life and Mary-Claire King’s discovery of the BRCA Gene! Guests enjoyed the
opportunity to meet Director & Screenwriter Steven Bernstein and the real Annie Parker who inspired the movie as well as everyone she meets!
Thanks to Gilda’s Club and Bob Russell of Rochester for hosting such a wonderful event!
To read the articles surrounding the event, click here for the Garner Article and here for the Rochester Business Journal.
Listen to Annie Parker & Steven Bernstein Interview - WBZA Rochester NY - 6-24-13
The TORONTO STAR reports :
Tak Mak, of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, and Dr. Dennis Slamon of UCLA have announced a new sharpshooter anti-cancer drug funded through grants and donations, without direct government money.
“If anyone ever doubted their cash donation to fight cancer — or their run, walk, or cycle for a cure — actually made a difference they should check with Tak Mak and Dennis Slamon.
Assigned the decidedly unglamourous moniker CFI-400945, the new medication zeroes in on a novel target within cancer cells. Unlike normal cells, these rogue cells rely on a special enzyme, called PLK4, to foster their out-of-control multiplication. By attacking that enzyme the researchers hope that cancer can be stopped in its tracks without harming normal cells. As an added benefit, cancer patients would be spared many of the devastating side effects of conventional chemotherapy.
Laboratory tests and experiments on special mice with human cancer tumours indicate this approach can inhibit the growth of breast and ovarian cancers as well as colorectal, lung, prostate and other malignancies.”
In her article just published in Scientific American, science teacher Joanne Manaster shares her surprise in discovering the wonderful feature film Decoding Annie Parker and its portrayal of Dr. Mary-Claire King’s relentless effort to find the BRCA genes.
We are so glad Ms. Manaster found us, and hope that her article makes it easier for many more people to see this amazing and inspirational story.
Watch our event calendar for a screening near you. We only have until mid-October to use the film to raise awareness and funding on this important topic.
Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BRCAGeneAwareness and on Twitter @BRCAGeneAware. Please donate on our website and help us find sponsors to bring this courageous and touching movie to you!
An article from the NY Times discusses the much broader availability of genetic testing in the wake of the Supreme Court’s rejection of Myriad’s patents on the BRCA genes. There is also a significantly wider spectrum of genetic testing available now that can help many more people.
“It levels the playing field; we can all go out and compete,” said Sherri Bale, managing director of GeneDx, a testing company, which plans to offer a test for breast cancer risk. “This is going to make a lot more genetic tests available, especially for rare diseases.”
Besides GeneDx, which is a subsidiary of Bio-Reference Laboratories, others that said that they would offer testing of the BRCA genes include Ambry Genetics; the University of Washington [Lab of Dr. Mary-Claire King who discovered the BRCA genes]; Montefiore Medical Center and Quest Diagnostics, the nation’s largest clinical laboratory company.
“Many academic labs, including our own, will soon be offering panel tests for dozens, or even hundreds of genes, for the same price Myriad historically charged for just two genes,” said Dr. Kenneth Offit, chief of the clinical genetics service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
In this article from New Scientist by Sara Reardon, Dr. King speaks to her 20 years of work to find the BRCA genes. She discusses the movie-Decoding Annie Parker by Steven Bernstein-in which Academy Award winner Helen Hunt portrays Dr. King. In the film, Samantha Morton portrays BRCA-cancer survivor Annie Parker. Ms. Morton was just awarded BEST ACTRESS at the Seattle International Film Festival for this terrific, heartfelt performance. Dr. King’s expresses her significant gratification upon receiving the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision liberating the BRCA genes she discovered from Myriad’s over-reaching patents.
We call it Justice for Genes!
Dr. King is seen here hugging Screenwriter Director Steven Bernstein at the Seattle Premiere of Decoding Annie Parker which raised money for Dr. King’s lab. This was just a few days before the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision.
Photos by Matt Hagan, Seattle WA.
CBS News in Washington DC features FORCE and upcoming D.C. Premiere in evening news story about the Supreme Court’s decision on the BRCA genes
On October 1st, WUSA9 and FORCE are teaming up to present “Decoding Annie Parker” a feature film starring Helen Hunt as Mary-Claire King, the researcher who discovered the BRCA1 gene mutation and its link to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
Tickets will be going on sale mid-summer, so stay tuned to WUSA9 for more information on how you can be part of this exciting movie premiere.