Pass It On… Until Every Woman Knows
The life-science company, Genomic Health, have announced the launch of an online campaign, Pass It On… Until Every Woman Knows, to educate people about personalized breast cancer treatment and the Oncotype DX® breast cancer test.
The campaign uses online sharing tools and social networks to spread the information not only to patients, but also to the many people in their lives who are their sources of information, so that when they are touched by breast cancer — whether it’s their own diagnosis or that of someone they love — they are empowered with the knowledge to ask their doctor if Oncotype DX is right for them.
“Every year, over one million women worldwide are newly diagnosed with breast cancer. It is still not well known that in some types of early breast cancer, if 100 women are treated with chemotherapy, only one or two, if any, will benefit, whereas in other types, more than 30 women in 100 will benefit from the treatment,” said Steven Shak, Chief Medical Officer of Genomic Health.
“The Oncotype DX breast cancer test can help determine this for certain newly diagnosed patients with the most common type of early breast cancer, by analyzing 21 genes within her tumor to predict the likelihood of chemotherapy benefit as well as disease recurrence. It has been used by more than 10,000 physicians to help over 150,000 patients worldwide make personalized treatment decisions.”
Understanding that a breast cancer patient relies on many sources of information when making her treatment decision, including family and friends, Genomic Health created Pass It On… Until Every Woman Knows to help educate everyone touched by breast cancer. The campaign utilizes online sharing tools and social networks including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to share a powerful video featuring three breast cancer survivors whose treatment paths changed based on their individual Oncotype DX test results.
“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, traditional assessment methods indicated that I did not need chemotherapy, but I wanted to be sure,” said Susan B., a breast cancer survivor. “After hearing about the Oncotype DX test from a friend, I asked my doctor about it and found out that I was an appropriate candidate for the test. My results showed that I would in fact benefit from chemotherapy, and gave me confidence to undergo this treatment. I am passing this on to empower all newly diagnosed patients to ask their doctor if this test is right for them.”
About Oncotype DX® Breast Cancer Test
The Oncotype DX breast cancer test is the first and only multigene expression test to be included in the published guidelines of both the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, to predict the likelihood of chemotherapy benefit as well as recurrence, for patients with node-negative breast cancer that is estrogen-receptor positive and/or progesterone-receptor positive. Additionally, physicians use Oncotype DX to make treatment recommendations for certain node-positive breast cancer patients, and the test report also provides quantitative scores for select individual genes. Oncotype DX has been extensively evaluated in thirteen clinical studies involving more than 4,000 breast cancer patients worldwide, including a large validation study published in The New England Journal of Medicine and a chemotherapy benefit study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Both Medicare and private health plans covering over 90 percent of U.S. insured lives provided reimbursement for Oncotype DX for patients with node-negative breast cancer that is estrogen-receptor positive and/or progesterone-receptor positive through contracts, agreements or policy decisions.
Source: Genomic Health
