"Doctor Targets Gene Mutations for Cancer Care"

"There needs to be a place where the family members can go," Munster told NBC News. "If we have the opportunity to diagnose risk early we have a better opportunity to prevent cancers." It was her unique knowledge of BRCA, combined with her personal experience, that led Munster to have her own father tested when he was diagnosed with advance pancreatic cancer at age 78. Pancreatic cancer is especially deadly, with a 5-year survival rate of only 6 percent. He tested positive for BRCA and when conventional chemotherapy was not working, his doctors were able to target treatment specifically designed for his mutation. Three years later, he has beaten the odds and is still alive.

Lauren Bochnowski, left, a patient at the University of California San Francisco's Center for BRCA Research center, with her sister. Courtesy of Lauren Bochnowski