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Gina Tonelli-BakerGina is a patient at The Cancer Institute at Alexian Brothers and St Alexius hospital.
She was diagnosed with stage 2+ breast cancer on March 6, 2019. Shortly after undergoing additional testing, she tested positive for BRCA1 a genetic mutation that is aggressive in re-occurrence. Gina will be having a double mastectomy on April 15th as well as a complete hysterectomy in the weeks that follow. Gina is 49 years old. She has 4 daughters ages 27, 22, 16 and 3 years old along with 2 grandsons who are 10 and 5 years old. |
Goal $5,500 - Actual $5,300
Tournament Winner:
Jeff Albee
Tournament Winner:
Jeff Albee
Sponsors
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Raffles & Prizes
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Gina's
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In 2018, Gina became ill and sought help from multiple Doctors. The pain throughout her body was diagnosed as fibromyalgia and RA. After months of struggling through pain and endless appointments, she was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, until she found a breast mass while self checking at home.
She started at the obgyn, then was sent to the oncology center. Diagnosed with yet another battle: Breast cancer. She has been an active mentor to many woman throughout the years. A voice in her community on woman empowerment, self help, and personal development. Gina's mindset is strong, but let's face it. A cancer diagnosis is very hard to grasp. On top of all the emotional stress she is facing, the financial burden is overwhelming. Even with medical insurance the out of pocket cost are astronomical. Trying to feed her children, pay bills, and take care of her herself is a daily task. Gina is currently unemployed, and filed for disability. |
BRCA1 |
Mutations in the BRCA gene are associated with breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. Women with a BRCA1 mutation have up to a 39% chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70.
If you have a BRCA1 mutation, you have an estimated 72% chance of developing breast cancer by age 80. If you have a BRCA2 mutation, you have an estimated 69% chance of developing breast cancer by age 80. If you have breast cancer and test positive for a BRCA1 mutation, your treatment options could potentially change. Here’s what you need to know: Some women with breast cancer are resistant to standard cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, making them less effective. Even if the cancer does respond to treatment, it can eventually return. People with breast cancer and a BRCA mutation have tumor cells that struggle to repair DNA damage in a certain way. Because of this, these cells rely more heavily on other ways to repair DNA damage, like using an enzyme called PARP. When PARP is stopped from repairing DNA damage, cancer cells struggle even more to repair DNA damage and are more likely to die Knowing if you have ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-positive, HER2-negative, or triple-negative breast cancer could determine treatment eligibility for certain therapies. |
