OUR COMMUNITY

16 | DECEMBER 16 • 2021 

would go to and what to do in 
the worst-case scenario. It was 
powerful to have a plan within 
less than a week of my diagno-
sis, whereas for others it may 
take weeks to even be seen by a 
specialist to receive a diagnosis.
”
Foon had a double mastec-
tomy in December 2020 and 
began chemotherapy later that 
month. Now, like her mother, 
she is cancer-free.
She emphasized that the pub-
lic should not think that genetic 
testing should be limited to 
those concerned about breast 
cancer. 
“JScreen tests for 60 heredi-
tary cancer gene mutations and 
200 genetic diseases that are 
common to Ashkenazi Jews,
” 
said Foon. “So, this is not just 
about the (BRCA1/2) gene. 
From screening for cancers and 
other diseases to reproductive 
gene mutations for those who 
are planning a family, there are 
now hundreds of life-saving 
opportunities that are now 
available to our Detroit Jewish 
community with JScreen 
Detroit.
” 
Ellyn Davidson is a mother 

of three and a 
14-year cancer 
survivor. She 
learned she had 
inherited the 
BRCA mutation 
only at the time 
she was diagnosed 
with breast cancer at age 36. 
She is a former board member 
and president of the national 
organization Facing Our Risk 
of Cancer (FORCE), a support 
organization for people facing 
hereditary cancers. She said she 
is pleased that JScreen Detroit 
will not only raise the aware-
ness about genetic screening 
but will also lower the financial 
barriers, as genetic screening 
is often not covered by health 
insurance. 
“This powerful program 
is going to save lives, said 
Davidson, CEO of Brogan & 
Partners, which is financially 
contributing to offset JScreen 
costs. “I did not have an aware-
ness of my (BRCA) genetic 
mutation before I was diag-
nosed with cancer, but if I did, 
there would have been things I 
could have done to prevent that 

diagnosis. Knowledge is power. 
That’s the message to drive 
home about cancer screening. It 
is best to understand what your 
options.
” 

FAMILY PLANNING
JScreen can also be essential 
for couples wishing to begin a 
family. 
Thanks to two successful in 
vitro fertilization (IVF) preg-
nancies, Katie Rosen, 34, and 
her husband, Matt Kurzmann, 
31, have two healthy sons, 
2 years and 6 months. The 
Bloomfield Hills couple come 
from large families with no 
known hereditary diseases. 
Through JScreen’s growing 
testing panel of over 226 muta-
tions, they learned that they 
both carried a mutation for 
two genetic defects and were 
at risk of passing them along 
to a child, including a rare but 
potentially fatal genetic disorder 
called RAPSYN. Their chances 
of having a child with one or 
both genetic diseases is 50%.
Empowered with that infor-
mation, Rosen and Kurzmann 
decided to have their children 
through IVF with pre- 
implantation genetic test-

ing — a complex, multi-stage 
procedure to identify viable 
embryos safe and suitable for 
implanting (or freezing for 
future use). Through this pro-
cess, they learned that many of 
their embryos tested positive 
for genetic mutations that could 
have led to severe birth defects. 
“Without such a compre-
hensive genetic screening 
panel such as the one JScreen 
provides, it would have been 
a long, painful process to get 
pregnant,
” said Rosen, a urol-
ogist. “For couples wishing to 
plan a family, JScreen testing 
spares a lot of heartache and 
time. And because RAPSYN 
is very rare, we wouldn’t have 
even known we had this muta-
tion if we did not get testing 
through JScreen. The program’s 
testing panel is far more com-
prehensive compared to what 
you would get at your doctor’s 
office.
” 
JScreen Detroit is fund-
ed by a $40,000 grant from 
the Detroit Medical Center 
Foundation and additional gen-
erous funding from the Lacey 
Foon Family Fund. To apply for 
screening, go to https://jfamily.
jccdet.org/jscreen. 

Ellyn 
Davidson 

continued from page 15

Lacey and Elliot 
Foon and 
daughters 
Eloise and 
Phoebe

Katie Rosen and 
Matt Kurzmann 
and son Brock

JOHN HARDWICK

Detroit: 400 Renaissance Center, Ste. 1404, Detroit, MI 48243 • 313-567-6837

Bloomfield Hills: 39475 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 • 248-792-9609

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