A gift she didn't know she needed

Jackie Mosher, 61, of Kingston, remembers the exact moment her primary care physician looked up from the chart and asked, "Did the genetic team reach out to you?"

It was June 2025, at a routine checkup. Ms. Mosher thought she knew what was coming — her younger brother has hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder. She figured MyCode, Geisinger’s DNA sequencing program, had found the same thing in her blood sample from 4 years earlier.

Her doctor shook her head, confused. "No," she said. "They reached out because of the BRCA2 gene mutation."

The person behind the patient

Ms. Mosher works for Geisinger doing insurance authorizations and holds down a second job as a pharmacy technician. In between, she gardens, reads and cares for what she calls "4 and a half cats" — 1 prefers outdoor life. She's been a vegetarian since her early twenties and has always been proactive about her health.

In 2021, a phlebotomist asked during a routine blood draw if she'd be interested in donating to MyCode. "I had always been meaning to do that," she says. "Working for Geisinger, you see it advertised. And I said, oh yeah, sure, this is the perfect time."

A mutation hiding in plain sight

BRCA2 is a gene mutation that significantly increases the risk of breast, ovarian, pancreatic and skin cancers. Most people only discover they have it after they've already developed cancer, when doctors work backward to identify the cause.

"This genetic mutation occurred at conception," Ms. Mosher says. "I felt like I was a walking time bomb for 60 years and didn't even know I had this."

MyCode is a research program, and researchers only reach out when they come across a blood sample with a significant finding. In Ms. Mosher's case, her sample was tested as part of BRCA2 research. Within days, the MyCode team contacted her primary care physician. Ms. Mosher happened to have her yearly checkup scheduled right when the notification came through.

"I was given this information, and now I have the choice to proceed in doing preventive measures," she says.

The MyCode team gave her names and recommendations — specialists in breast health, gynecologic oncology and gastroenterology. They offered resources and support but left the decisions to her. Ms. Mosher spent the next few days researching everything she could find about BRCA2 and started making calls.

Moving forward with care

By June 20, she had an appointment with Ekaterina Halivelakis, MD, an OB-GYN at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. By July 1, she'd had surgery to remove her ovaries — a procedure that reduces the risk of developing ovarian cancer by about 90% in people with BRCA2.

Ms. Mosher remembers Dr. Halivelakis as warm and thorough. "She just wheeled her chair over to me and was as close as you could comfortably be," Ms. Mosher recalls. "And she said to me, 'Tell me what you know.' She wanted to know what I knew already, where to start."

Dr. Halivelakis says the decision to proceed was collaborative. And the surgery was a minimally invasive laparoscopy.

"It took me longer to get to Danville than it did for the surgery," Ms. Mosher says with a laugh.

Ms. Mosher's recovery was swift. She also met with Mary Walters, PA-C, at the breast clinic in Danville, who explained everything about BRCA and breast health. She had gastroenterology consultations via telehealth, and everyone she encountered provided clear, compassionate guidance.

"I will see her every year for the rest of my life," Ms. Mosher says of Dr. Halivelakis.

A new normal

Ms. Mosher's life now includes a rotating schedule of screenings: MRIs in addition to mammograms and an upper endoscopy with pancreatic ultrasound. Every other year, she'll repeat the gastroenterology procedures. "If I do develop any of these cancers, it will be caught at the very early stages where you could hopefully nip it in the bud," she says.

She sent information to her female cousins — the MyCode team provided letters offering free or low-cost testing for first-generation relatives. There's no history of breast, ovarian or pancreatic cancer in her family, so without MyCode, Ms. Mosher never would have known to look for this.

Dr. Halivelakis sees Ms. Mosher's experience as an example of what MyCode can do. "It's a really great resource for patients,” she says, “and I think it sets them up for risk reduction in their lifetime."

Ms. Mosher hopes sharing her story will help others learn about MyCode. "I'm pro donating for MyCode," she says. "It's a wonderful program. You're contributing to something bigger, and if they do find something, it gives you the chance to act on it."

She's quick to set expectations. Participation doesn't guarantee answers. "No news is no news," she says. "Don't do it thinking you'll automatically find out everything about your health." But for Ms. Mosher, the possibility of knowing is what matters most.

"Knowledge is power," she says. "I've learned as much about my health as I could and moved forward to protect my peace of mind." She still gardens and reads. She still works 2 jobs and cares for her cats. Most days, she forgets about the mutation — until she looks at her calendar and sees another screening appointment.

"If there's something you could do that could change the outcome of your life, don't you want to know?" she asks. "Not too many people have the opportunity to take their future health in their hands."

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