Twisting Fate ― My Journey With BRCA--From Breast Cancer Doctor to Patient and Back

A practical yet personal guide to the medical and emotional facets of breast cancer, from a woman who’s made her living researching the disease—and lived through it herself

A leading oncologist at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Pamela Munster has advised thousands of women on how to deal with the life-altering diagnosis of breast cancer. But when she got a call saying that her own mammogram showed “irregularities,” she found herself experiencing a whole new side of the disease she thought she was an expert in.

Weaving together her personal story with her team’s groundbreaking research on the BRCA gene—responsible for not only breast cancer but also for many other inherited cancers affecting both women and men—Twisting Fate is an inspiring guide to living with BRCA mutations. With authority, insight, and compassion, Dr. Munster uses her voice to create a safe space for genuine healing and honesty in a world otherwise dominated by fear.

Pamela N. Munster, MD, is a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, where she is Leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program/Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Director of Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit, Coleader of the Center for BRCA Research. In addition to her laboratory research, she focuses on developing novel strategies to treat patients with incurable cancers as an oncologist. She serves on multiple local, national, and international committees focused on developing new treatments for cancer, has published over 200 articles, authored textbooks, and is a frequent lecturer. A native of Switzerland, she leads breast awareness campaigns in the US, UAE, and India.