Jon Diamond believes that knowledge is power and that early detection saves lives. After his uncle died as a result of both pancreatic and breast cancers, Diamond and his family signed up for genetic testing. The results revealed what Diamond feared: He and his three children are BRCA 2 positive, putting them at a greater risk of developing breast, ovarian, prostate, pancreatic and skin cancers. The question now was, what could be done to prevent cancer before it occurs?
As previvors, a term used to describe individuals with a hereditary predisposition who don’t yet have cancer, the family made a $5 million gift to Sylvester to establish the Diamond Hereditary Cancer Prevention Initiative. A key component of the initiative is the establishment of the Diamond Protocol, which will focus on prevention, risk reduction, early diagnosis, lifestyle management and research in high-risk populations for hereditary cancers. This includes families of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, like the Diamonds, who have a higher incidence of inheriting a BRCA gene mutation.
“We hope the Diamond Protocol will provide people with an easy channel to be prudent with their health and get on a regular program of preventative actions, such as exercise, nutrition, and diagnostic screenings,” said Diamond, a 66-year-old entrepreneur who lives half the year in South Florida.
“Ultimately, we want to create better outcomes for those who get diagnosed with a genetic predisposition, like Jonny and our children," Susan Diamond said. “We want our gift to be an impetus to not only identify potential patients but also to create a protocol for people who have a hereditary predisposition or even a future diagnosis of cancer so they can have better outcomes.”
The Diamonds are confident that Sylvester has the means to make that happen. That is why they have put their faith and philanthropy behind three of its highly renowned physician-researchers, Daniel Sussman, M.D., M.S.P.H, Tracy Crane, Ph.D., RDN, and Frank Penedo, Ph.D. ’99, to develop the Diamond Protocol. “Sylvester has done a phenomenal job of recruiting top talent from around the country to position itself as a leading cancer hospital in the country,” Josh Diamond said.
The Diamonds have allocated a portion of their gift to create the Diamond Award Endowment Fund. It will be used to support a competitive peer- reviewed grant program that will award internal grants, known as “Diamond Awards,” to Sylvester’s physician-researchers to support translational research in genetic predisposition, genetic testing and lifestyle management for risk reduction.