Every October, the NFL and each of its 32 teams turns its attention toward raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research. For one family of die-hard Eagles fans, and breast cancer survivors, the month is an especially meaningful time.
After their aunt and mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer, the Brown sisters decided to undergo preliminary testing to find out if they were at a greater risk to develop the disease. It was then, in 2002, that they discovered that five of the nine women in their family carried the BRCA1 gene, a mutation that increases one’s odds of developing early onset breast cancer to 87 percent.