Abington Memorial Hospital is proud to host a special premiere screening of the award-winning documentary, “In the Family,” part of PBS independent documentary series, P.O.V., on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 in the Lenfest Pavilion, Frobese Conference Center Auditorium, Abington Memorial Hospital.

Following the screening, a panel of physicians and nurses from the hospitals Rosenfeld Cancer Center will conduct a question and answer forum. The panel will include Willard Andrews, III, M.D., medical oncologist; Meredith Kessler, R.N., M.S., C.S., oncology clinical nurse specialist and nurse genetic counselor; and Betty Cummings, R.N., M.S.N., breast cancer care coordinator. Mark Shahin, M.D., gynecologic oncologist, Gynecologic Oncology Institute, will also participate in the discussion.

“In the Family” follows the story of a young woman, Joanna Rudnick, 31, with a high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. At the age of 27, Rudnick tested positive for the BRCA mutation or “breast cancer gene,” a hereditary genetic mutation that forces carriers to basically live as “a ticking time bomb,” knowing that cancer can develop at any time. As a young woman with hopes of eventually starting her own family, Rudnick is faced with an impossible decision to either remove her healthy breasts and ovaries or risk the highly inevitable chance of developing cancer.

Rudnick, producer, director and writer of “In the Family,” fully embraces the spirit of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Armed with the knowledge of her own familys history and the experiences of other women and families coping with the BRCA gene, Rudnicks mission is to prepare others for predictive genetic testing and the difficult decisions that accompany the results.

“This is not a film that is pro- or anti-genetic testing, but rather an exploration of the women living with this decision and their right to decide what is best for them,” Rudnick told Chicago Health + Wellness in 2006. “I really wanted to tell this story to help prepare other woman.”

According to Andrews, women who carry the BRCA mutation have up to an 80 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and up to a 40 percent lifetime chance of developing ovarian cancer.

“This is a disease that does not only affect the individual, but rather the entire family and the entire family structure, which is why we called the film In the Family,” Rudnick proclaims.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former U.S. Senator John Edwards says “Joanna Rudnicks In the Family bravely explores the emotional implications of predictive genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer. It challenges the stigma and secrecy associated with familial disease, while defending the rights of all populations to access genetic information and receive equitable health care. It is a sensitive, provocative and important film.”

“In the Family” is a co-production of Joanna Rudnick, Kartemquin Films and Independent Television Service (IVTS).

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